Do Away With Laws

[Mojo]

Re: Re: Do Away With Laws

And why criminalise theft and not fraud, usury, defalcation and other proprietary crimes?

Because theft is more likely to be committed by the socially disadvantaged, while the others are good, solid, middle-class sort of crimes.

 

[Freakshow]

Possibly this is because using your cellphone whilst driving is illegal.

Nope. It was that way before any laws were passed in this country regarding cell phone use while driving. And it isn't illegal everywhere. Even in areas where it is not illegal to use the cell phone while driving, eating is still the #1 cause of distracted driving accidents.

 

[Freakshow]

Where is the self interest in going after either of those groups as the cause of the accidents?

It gets the politician attention. More attention means more money, and a better chance to get elected again. If a politician is doing nothing ,and hiding in a closet somewhere, their career won't last very long. But if they are always making noise, getting in front of the cameras, getting interviewed, etc., it helps further their political career.

 

[AmateurScientist]

Re: Re: Re: Do Away With Laws

The United States gets along just fine with this as a definition of murder, and no one seems to object:



So I submit that you're being needlessly, and unhelpfully, critical.

That's the federal murder statute. There's also a federal manslaughter statute. There are also federal assault statutes. They apply to crimes committed within federal enclaves, in federal waters, on certain vessels or aircraft, or against certain federal officers or employees.

Otherwise, murder and assault are state matters, and therefore subject to regulation by each individual state. The definitions vary from state to state. Some states, like mine, even have a misdemeanor offense for an unlawful killing. It's called negligent homicide.

Doing away with most laws sounds appealing. Nevertheless, a complex society needs lots of laws, and many of them are quite complex.

Tax law is such an area, as is anti-trust law, and patent and copyright law and laws dealing with trade secrets. Federal laws covering employee benefits such as health insurance and retirement accounts are monumentally complex, as are those prohibiting unlawful employment discrimination.

Traffic codes alone sometimes span an entire volume of a state's code. Do we really want to do away with traffic laws?

What about laws covering familes? Should there be no law allowing persons to get married? Once married, can they not get divorced? If they have kids, shouldn't the law address child custody, visitation, and support? What if the obligor parent doesn't pay support? How would one go about adopting a child if there were no laws addressing it?

What would happen to my kids and my stuff when I die, if there were no laws addressing it?

If I enter a written contract with a builder to sell me a lot and construct a home on it, and the builder breaches the contract by failing to complete my home, what recourse would I have without law?

I could go on and on. We need laws. Without them we wouldn't have any protections at all in our personal or business dealings.

Are there unnecessary, outmoded, antiquated, redundant, superfluous, counterproductive, or just plain silly laws in effect? You bet. Do we chuck all laws in response to some bad ones? No.

AS

 

[roger]

So, nightwind, someone could do the following to you, and you'd have no recourse. You'd be happy with this:


* break into the JREF database and get your identity.
* take out an ad in your local newspaper stating that you have molested children.
* set up an autodial machine to dial you home number, and all cell phones, every 10 seconds.
* set up a 150 decibal set of loudspeakers on his property will be fine, too, since there are no trespassing laws.
*introduce some nasty chemicals to your water supply. Nothing to kill you, mind you, just render the water unpotable.
* walk into your house while you are having relations with your wife, take photos, and publish them on the internet.
* photoshop some pictures of you having sex with somebody else, and send them to your wife.
* infect your children with several nondeadly diseases
* kill your pets
* take a car and do donuts all over your lawn
* set off sticks of dynamite on your lawn every morning at 2am.
* Paint your house with grafitti
* key your car
* author death threats to your boss, and sign your name to them
* drive 150mph down your street
* park in front of your driveway so you can't leave your house
* nail your house door shut while you are inside
* cut the electric wires to your house
* create a business that competes with yours, and deliberately sell below cost to drive you out of business
* blackmail you
*someone beats you with a tire iron
* town hobo uses your front step to sleep, and defecate on.
* etc.

Yup, sounds like a real nice way to live.

 

[phildonnia]

Re: Re: Re: Do Away With Laws

Really, are you saying that none of those in jail for murder would have ever killed again?

Good point. No murdering a second time then.