Some people scoffed when I complained last year that encouraging schoolchildren to lobby will lead to a lot of frivolous legislation. So I wonder what they think about this:

In their quest to designate the ice cream cone as Missouri’s official desert [sic], a group of 19 St. Louis-area students made their case before a Senate committee Wednesday. [...]

Besides the dairy association, the Missouri Restaurant Association, the Division of Tourism and the owner of several Cold Stone ice cream shops also spoke in favor of the measure.

Back in the days when kids’ bills were limited to animals, nobody in particular stood to benefit. After all, the box turtles didn’t care. Now that kids have broadened their efforts, real industries are looking to benefit. Some rent-seeking is an inevitable part of politics, but the restaurant and tourim associations should pay full-grown professionals to do their lobbying work.