Ask HN: What are your thoughts on licensed Software Engineers?

I came across this article from 2012 that talks about some states in the US now offering a licensure examination for Software Engineering. The idea is to bring standards to the software field similar to the ones that exist for other branches of engineering.

The comments section is particularly negative to this idea. It seems like most of the people commenting are established software developers that are reluctant to this change.

Reading the article, I begin to agree that licensure may be a good idea. The term "Software Engineering" has such a wide span that some delineation could be a good thing. As software continues to eat the world what will delineate the differences between a CRUD web application developer and someone qualified to write code for pacemakers, satellites, missiles, etc?

How is this sort of thing handled in countries other than the US?

Is licensure a good or bad idea? I'd like to hear the communities' thoughts.

Link: http://theinstitute.ieee.org/career-and-education/career-guidance/licensing-software-engineers-is-in-the-works