This isn’t a “back in the good old days” thing.
Modern cars have airbags that are designed for adults in the front seats. They will kill a child sitting in the front seat. It’s just that simple. If a kid isn’t big enough use a standard seat belt without a car seat or booster they can’t safely be in the front seat.
I also don’t see the actual text of the law here or any kind of reference. There’s no doubt some kind of age/height/weight standard, as well as caveats for trucks with only a front seat and passenger airbags that can be turned off manually by a switch. It would be nice to link the actual law instead of just guessing or misrepresenting it by overgeneralizing it.
