I know some want Drugs but what else should be legalized IN YOUR OPINION Prostitution? Jaywalking? Riding a motor cycle without a helmet? riding with no Seatbelt? Sex with kids 14 and up? [the roman Polanski/R Kelly/Woody Allen Law] Freedom of religious practice? what else is on your minds .. that would make AMERICA FREER? Rocket River
-Prostitution should be legal -I hate to throw this out, but why is 18 such an arbitrary age? Why is it that at that mandatory age, a girl becomes a woman? I think the age of consent should be around 16 or so.
Prostitution is legal in some places. It would be safer if it were legalized. Jaywalking is a hazard to drivers and pedestrians and should remain illegal. Riding a motorcycle without a helmet is illegal because it lowers insurance premiums, which is better for everyone. Ditto riding with no seatbelt. Sex with kids under 18 is a bad idea because, as recent studies of the teen brain have shown conclusively, kids don't have the same level of judgement adults do and can be easily manipulated by adults. That type of exploitation of any human should always be against the law. Last time I checked, freedome of religious practice was written into the constitution.
The problem is the age of the other person. Recent studies have shown that the last part of the brain to develop is the area that controls decision-making ability. Scientists have found that development of that part of the brain doesn't occur until we are at least 18 and, in some, not until as late as mid-20's. The opportunity for explotitation of kids (girls in particular) at that age who have developed physically but have not matured enough mentally to make good decisions about sex and sexual partners is too great. It's one thing for an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old. It's another if the elder is 20+. There have to be limits to protect kids from adults.
drugs, prostitution, gambling. I like the idea of a four day work week. I also wish there more laws like the Public Right of Access to Beaches I wish this would also include more lakes and rivers and just more land in general. No curfew laws too. I feel sorry for teenagers sometimes. It's like they have nowhere to go, so they end up just driving around. If they go to a park or something the police have to come see what they are up to. Then you can't even walk down the street after 11 or something. I'm glad I didn't grow up with the crap.
True. I think that when you see some 19-year old kid get busted for having sex with a 16-year old, it is total crap. It's usually brought on by the parents.
You can already ride a motorcycle without a helmet in Texas, if you're an adult. I think it's mad to do it, but I understand the appeal. There's something intoxicating about riding with the wind in your hair. I did it sometimes, many years back. I also grew up when there weren't seatbelts. I remember crawling all over the inside of our big Ford sedans... laying under the rear window, for example, or trading places with my sister from the front seat to the rear and back. It was freedom I wouldn't dream giving my own kids, but it was a gas.
Cars had seatbelts when I was a kid, but we never used them. I remember my mother having a Buick station wagon that would buzz the entire time the engine was running unless you buckled the front seat belts. Instead of actually wearing the seat belts to stop the buzzing, we'd buckle them behind us. It wasn't until my mother bought a Volkswagen with those automatic seatbelts in the mid-80s that I started wearing a seat belt (and soon thereafter, it became law to wear one). Now, of course, I can't stand to not wear one.
Prostitution? Yes Jaywalking? Yes Riding a motor cycle without a helmet? No riding with no Seatbelt? No Sex with kids 14 and up? [the roman Polanski/R Kelly/Woody Allen Law] Yes Freedom of religious practice? ???
If we ok with making drugs legal becuase it is their body and they can do what they want Jeff . . what is the age difference? as someone stated a 19 yr old and a 16 yr old. . .. . . We give up freedoms because it benefits everyone? [Seatbelts] Rocket River
When I had my Harley, there was a helmet law that I despised. I would still have worn my helmet on the freeway because, as you said, it is mad not to do so. But it always pi$$ed me off that I had to wear a cover to go to the Stop-N-Go.
Yep. Except that prohibition causes far more problems and negatively impacts people FAR more than wearing a seatbelt. Getting a $100 ticket for not wearing a seatbelt is miles away from a felony conviction for possessing a crack pipe with traces of cocaine on it (I knew someone it happened to). In addition, statistics show that the seat belt laws markedly decreased traffic deaths. Statistics also show that prohibition has caused more violence, more deaths, and less safety while not having a positive impact WHATSOEVER on rates of use.
Prostitution Does this mean legal prostitution for any over 18? Or is the age higher/lower? If the age is over 18, then I'm all for it. To take a page from George Carlin's book, if it's legal to sell things, and it's legal to have sex, why shouldn't it be legal to sell sex? If two consenting adults, both over 18, decide to engage in sexual activity in exchange for money, that's their business. Jaywalking I'm split on this one. Jaywalking is done after a person makes the conscious decision to pit their traffic-dodging skills against the driving skills of the other cars on the road. As has been pointed out in some of the previous posts, however, the last part of the brain to develop is the one that governs decision-making. It's just easier to make it against the law to jaywalk in order to avoid kids thinking "I can make it" and not making it. Riding a motor cycle without a helmet Yes to this one. For my previous answer, I advocated the government stepping in to protect the safety of the people, and I can understand how this would be an issue of protection also, but aren't motorcycles generally dangerous anyway? If the government won't make motorcycles illegal in the interests of safety, then they should leave the helmet issue alone as well. I'm sure that I'll probably catch hell about this from the motorcycle riders out there who don't think they're dangerous at all. Riding with no Seatbelt In Texas, unless I'm mistaken, it's legal to ride in the backseat of a car with no seatbelt if you're over 16. I take full advantage of this law, and I think it makes a lot of sense. You're big enough by 16 to avoid being completely thrown around like a rag doll, and when you are under this age, it is in your best interest to still wear a seat belt. As far as the front seat, your chances of surviving a serious accident are very low if you are not wearing a seat belt. Instead of making it legal to ride with no seat belt at any time, I would keep the current law concerning the back seat, and maybe implement a new law making it legal to ride in the front seat with no seat belt if you are over a certain age, most likely 18. Sex with kids 14 and up? Again, in Texas, unless I'm mistaken, it is legal to have sex with someone within three years of age of you if you are 18 or younger. Personally, I believe that this should be made to be within two years of age. A 16 year old having sex with an 18 year old seems slightly less troubling than a 15 year old and an 18 year old. In our society, too often little girls want to be big girls, and this is when you get the 15 or 16 year olds associating with 19 and 20 year olds. Do these girls honestly believe that these guys want anything besides their bodies? If the guys wanted someone with something in common, they would be with someone their own age. Instead, they're just looking for sex, and laws making these things illegal give parents a way to check their children's behavior. Freedom of religious practice I'm assuming that this is dealing with the idea that you can't implement prayer in public schools, which I agree with. In Texas, they give us a moment to "reflect" each morning on "the seven pillar of character". This is a very crafty way of allowing a morning prayer, and I don't agree. I had my art teacher tell me that we all had to be absolutely quiet during this time because some people "like to get in touch with their Lord, Jesus Christ". I can't imagine that the schools would be too tolerant of students "getting in touch" with Allah or Buddha or Zeus. Why Jesus?
Agreed. I think the judges in these cases should be given leeway to make decisions about what is consentual and what is coercion. If you have 19 and 16 or 20 and 17, there's a good chance it was mutual. I think there should be pretty much no exception with 14 and under though.
Prostitution should be legal. Clean up that industry pronto. But please, no Pat Pong in downtown Houston. Jaywalking should be legal, but if you get smacked by a car, it should be ILLEGAL to sue the driver. Darwinism rules. If you dont wear a seatbelt, you are a moron. But if you want to increase your chances of death, no sweat off my back. Ditto with a helmet. I wrecked my bike on the I-10 feeder road. The helmet saved my coconut. Sex with 14-year olds is wrong if you are over 21. But if high school kids are screwing, you cant throw the 18-year old in jail for sex with a 15-year old. When I was a senior I was dating a sophomore....so essentially I was comitting statuatory rape by these dumb laws. However I ended up marrying her so there goes that case.... Gambling should be legal if they are going to keep the MNF schedule firm...the only way I can watch Chicago vs. NYG is if I have some action on it.
Prostitution: Legalize, regulate and tax the hell out of it. Gambling: Legalize, regulate and tax the hell out of it. Age of consent: Eighteen years old is a pretty arbitrary age. But, for the purposes of setting a law, 18 also seems to be a pretty reasonable cut-off date.
