Posted on 02/18/2006 1:46:55 PM PST by freepatriot32
Here's a question for you: Can you get through 24 hours without breaking a law? Before you answer, consider:
In January, an Atlanta man was arrested and handcuffed for selling a subway token at face value. Donald Pirone observed another passenger having difficulty with a token vending machine, so he gave him a $1.75 token. After the man insisted on paying him, Pirone was cited by a transit officer for a misdemeanor, since state law prohibits selling tokens -- even at face value. A MARTA spokesperson denied that handcuffing a customer for helping another customer was excessive. "There are customer service phones for people who are having trouble getting tokens out of the machine," she said.
Meanwhile, in late 2005, an Ohio man spent three days in jail because he didn't put identification tags on his family's pet turtles and snakes. Terry Wilkins broke a state law requiring owners of native reptiles to tag them with a PIT (personal-integrated transponder). The tags, which are the size of a grain of rice and can be inserted under the animal's skin, contain a bar code readable by a scanner. Wilkins refused to tag the animals because he said PIT tags cause health problems in small reptiles.
It goes on. In Kentucky, Larry Casteel was arrested for not attending a parenting class for divorcing parents, as mandated by state law. He spent the night in jail. In New Jersey, police are giving tickets to people who leave their cars running for more than three minutes in store parking lots. Stopwatch-wielding police hit the offenders with a $200 fine for violating the state's anti-idling law. In northwest Georgia, 49 convenience store owners were arrested for selling legal products to customers. The owners -- mostly of Indian background -- sold cold medicine, baking soda, table salt, matches, and lantern fuel. Police said the ingredients could be used to make methamphetamine. In Burlington, Vermont, police are ticketing people for not removing keys from the ignition and locking their cars. Police said the state law prevents car thefts. Violators are fined $79.
So -- are you still sure you can get through a day without violating a law? If so, don't worry. Legislators are making more things illegal. In New York City, a city council member wants to make it a crime to ride a bike without a registration number tag. Violators would face up to 15 days imprisonment. In Illinois, a state senator wants to make it a crime not to have a carbon monoxide detector installed in your home. In Pennsylvania, a state senator filed a bill to allow police to fine drivers $75 if they don't clean snow off their car. In Virginia, a state legislator wants to make it illegal to show your underwear in public. Girls (or boys) with low-rider pants would get hit with a $50 fine if their thongs show.
Novelist Ayn Rand once wrote: "There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible to live without breaking laws."
Have we reached that point? Is it impossible to live without breaking laws? Before you answer, better check to make sure that your pets have transponder tags, that you didn't leave the keys in your car, and that your underwear is not showing.
Sources:
MARTA token: http://abcnews.go.com/US/print?id=1390140 Pet TIPs: http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/13309603.htm Parenting class: http://www.reason.com/brickbats/bb-2005.shtml NJ anti-idling law: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060108/LIVING/601080331/1004/LIVING&theme=
VT locked cars: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060108/LIVING/601080331/1004/LIVING&theme= Convenience store: http://www.iacfpa.org/p_news/nit/iacpa-archieve/2005/08/19/civil2-19082995.html NY bikes: http://ridl.us/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=4889&sid=7bad222acdd8dc2f133555e0e62b5f34 CO2 detector: http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/ba/01-19-06-807026.html PA snow: http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/08/874.asp VA underwear: http://www.timesdispatch.com/
The hell? If it weren't for us, people might actually get convicted for this nonsense. If you want to blame someone, blame the special interest morons that push this legislation and the legislators that bow to them.
I've often said that the average American has broken half a dozen laws before he gets his teeth brushed every morning, and committed two felonies by time he gets to work.
I have occasionally half in jest proposed that one year out of every four should be for reviewing and purging of laws.
Up until a couple years ago it was illegal for me to wander around Boston without being escorted by two armed solders. (No I am not kidding)
While the law had not been enforced in a couple of hundred years it was still on the books and technically enforceable. I was rather shocked to find out that I was a lawbreaker.
you must live in one tough neighborhood.
And it doesn't matter whether you know its against the law or not either, the punishment is the same.
90% of our laws are for the purpose of generating income for government. Our most important laws are in the ten commandments.
Worse. The suburbs.
At least we can demand a jury trial . ......
bump
Good Lord man, flee while you can.
Most states have a law that says it is illegal to open you car door into oncoming traffic,meaning,if you go to the store and park on the street,getting out on the driver side you are breaking the law.New Mexico was a nightmare as far as police were concerned.Visited family there twice.Vowed never to go back.Police checkpoints everywhere.We were stopped 3 times just going to the store.A 3 mile trip!
I've been using this tag line for several years!
I'd love to, but The Man has me trapped in an endless cycle of poverty and dependence.
I lived in Colorado some years ago, and got a ticket for driving in the wrong (passing) lane when I wasn't passing. My car had out-of-state plates at the time, since I'd only moved there a few weeks before.
...to a majority of somebodies, at that.
Of course, there's the whole "one tyrant three thousand miles away versus three thousand tyrants one mile away" thing...
Last time I was in a jury selection pool, the Judge made a point of telling us he would NOT tolerate a jury deciding on the validity of any law in HIS court. We were to stick with determining guilt or innocence. Or else.
James Madison had a comment about this, something about making so many and such complex laws that no one could follow them. We've far surpassed that point already.
Let's make everything legal .. then we won't have any crime ...
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