The wrong way to bring about change.

Last week, Spencer Kim, father of the late James Kim, published an op-ed in the Washington Post about proposed legislative changes could perhaps prevent the same tragedy that his son, daughter-in-law, Kati, and two granddaughters experienced when they became stranded in the mountains of Oregon.

As much as Mr. Kim's piece moved me -- as did the seemingly senseless events that led to his son's death as he left his family in their car and set out on foot for help -- I can't help but feel that this piece is wrong. We should never, as a body of people, as a government, even as the grieving father of a lost son, legislate based on one event. Ever. Although the lives of the Terri Schiavos, the Megan Kankas and, yes, the James Kims of the world break our hearts and often make us wonder why the world can be so cruel, their singular fates should not be the basis of law.

I feel for Mr. Kim. Certainly knowing that hindsight is 20/20 is of no comfort. But even with the changes he proposes, he still cannot prevent someone misreading a map, driving late at night in bad weather or opting to go out and search for help in the bitter cold. And the other changes he proposes, though they may seem innocuous in the context of Mr. Kim's experience, may be leveraged in ways he never imagined.