Buckle up! It's the law.

[Alley Cat]

Everyone knows that a civilized society cannot exist without a set of pre-established rules, usually called laws. Some laws are made to protect the citizens of the country, yet others seem to exist only to make our lives more difficult. Do you agree with the laws in your country? Why or why not? What would laws would you change, remove, or add, if you could? Have you ever broken a law? Do you think it's okay to break "stupid laws?" BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. Anything else you wanna say? Oh, and list form = broken spinal column. sad face.

I think that the U.S has some pretty fair laws. Definitely a lot more liberal than other countries. There are few things I disagree with, mainly the ban on gay marriage and the illegality of pot. Things like SOPA and ACTA, are the kind of things that ideally wouldn't be drafted. I've broken plenty of laws, actually. I break the law everyday when I smoke, and I break the law when I drink, and when I take shortcuts through abandoned fields because it's "trespassing." Of course I think that these laws are rather stupid... . I don't believe in breaking stupid laws, unless they affect only you(i.e. smoking pot/drinking(when done safely)) because it would only lead to anarchy. All I can really say though, is that sometimes it is necessary.

 

[Haguri]

I honestly would just agree with you.
I spoke to a couple girls from Germany and they seem to think a lot of our laws are odd.
One that they pointed out was apparently that the death penalty is unheard of. In all honesty, I've never studied it, but I've heard it nearly costs more than sending people to prison (Though I'm not sure how...)
Also most their colleges are free, I realize that's not a law but it's something to complain about xD

Also before I found my fiance, I was very interested in girls (Though my fiance is male) and well I hated how everyone wanted to ban gay marriage. I think most people against it are against it for religious beliefs and that's not really a justified argument.

Marijuana? Meh, I personally do not do any type of legal or illegal drug, though I think having marijuana illegal hurts our economy more than legalizing it..

As far as breaking stupid laws, no I don't think they should be broken I don't suppose, but when your a child half of your parents rules aren't supposed to be broken either like "Don't date online." What do you know? I did anyway, found my fiance, and my family loves him :|

So anyway, I would never tell anyone not to (Well unless it's a huge law not a stupid one like drinking or marijuana(as long as it's done safely as you say)), but I'd try to avoid breaking any law at all.

 

[Shining Raichu]

OK this thread is dying here so I'm gonna send it over to Other Chat to see if we can't make an honest discussion out of it :)

 

[Esper]

Well, there are good laws and bad laws. I'm of the opinion that when a law has a clear purpose and an obvious benefit it should always be followed except in extenuating circumstances.

Basically I'm for safety type laws. I haven't heard of many which were too extreme. Laws which restrict people's choices and actions I'm only okay with when they make things better for other people (like bans on smoking, for example).

I think I'd agree with most people about how we need freedom and laws should respect that. The only places where I feel I might diverge from the mainstream is where I feel we ought to have some kind of laws in place to enforce the idea of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Taxes are one easy example of that where rich people, I feel, should pay more, but I'd want to see more than that on the need side like, say, laws that require us to provide shelter to everyone regardless of whether they're homeless or unemployed or whatnot. Stuff like that.

 

[Rogue planet]

I think the laws here in the UK are fine as they are. There are maybe a few minor laws that I would have qualms with, but nothing springs to mind when I read this thread. The real problem doesn't lie in the laws, it's with the judicial and law enforcement system itself; and ultimately, the government. Society is unfair and it's not because of what's written down on paper, it's because of the actions of those in power.

 

[Alley Cat]

I do agree with you there, a lot. Most of the cops around here just like to harass people because they have nothing better to do, and they know they will be believed over anyone else. They almost always do "legal" searches, because miraculously, no matter the occasion, there is some how reasonable cause.

 

[The Author]

Also before I found my fiance, I was very interested in girls (Though my fiance is male) and well I hated how everyone wanted to ban gay marriage. I think most people against it are against it for religious beliefs and that's not really a justified argument.

Marijuana? Meh, I personally do not do any type of legal or illegal drug, though I think having marijuana illegal hurts our economy more than legalizing it..

I'm against gay marriage for religious reasons....
But that doesn't mean I hate gay people. I mean, I've had some great homosexual friends, and even though I don't agree with what they're doing, I still like them for who they are. I believe gay marriage should be banned, but not being allowed in the military or something is kind of stupid.

And, even though I disagree with the use of drugs (for more than just religious reasons), it would help our economy. Oregon is already working on fully legalising it.

 

[Gamzee]

I honestly would just agree with you.
I spoke to a couple girls from Germany and they seem to think a lot of our laws are odd.
One that they pointed out was apparently that the death penalty is unheard of. In all honesty, I've never studied it, but I've heard it nearly costs more than sending people to prison (Though I'm not sure how...)

Oh, it sure does.

You can't just point a finger at someone and say they killed someone. They need to have trials, substantial evidence of all sorts needs to be found, the case needs to be vigorously studied, and a lot of time, effort, and money goes into trying to find the truth as to whether the person committed said crime or not before they're put to death.

In the meantime, they are kept in prison and are being fed, taken care of, etc., and all of that costs money as well. A life sentence costs the government less money than pursuing a death sentence.



Anyway my stance on laws: as long as you aren't infringing on another person's liberty, I don't care what you do. Gay marriage doesn't do this. Smoking a joint doesn't do this. Getting drunk at your house or a bar doesn't do this. Interracial marriage doesn't do this. The list can go on and on.

 

[Livewire]

Most of them are there for a reason. There's a pretty fine lien between anarchy and order, and tyranny and freedom. It's not easy for a government to walk that fine of a line, so sometimes you dabble in both.