FLORIDA SUPREME COURT JUSTICES OVERTURN TWO YOUTH CURFEWS

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/10218987.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp ^ | 11/19/2004 | Marc Caputo

[tutstar]

What do you think are legitimate reasons for a teen to be out past 11pm or midnight?

[mysterio]

No, kids should not fear cops. No one should have to fear the police when they are doing nothing wrong. And the simple act of being outside at a particular time is not wrong in any way. It's easy to pass blanket legislation under the "punish the class" mentality that we seem to have in this country.

Police put their lives on the line, and what they do, for the most part, is good. But we make them the face of legislation, and when that legislation is oppressive or unfair, we make THEM appear oppressive or unfair. This creates a public distrust and dislike of officers that can last a lifetime, and might make thier job more dangerous.

But that's not the main issue. The main issue is that curfew laws are wrong. They are wrong because you can't just ban an entire age group from being outside at a particular time of day just because more crime occurs then. If a parent wants their kid in at a certain time, that's the parent's responsibility. It's not the government's, nor is it the taxpayers'.

[tutstar]

they are not likely to have a full tank of mischief during the daytime

In Duval county if your child is truant, the parent gets arrested. I don't see how anyone can say this practice does not teach kids that they are 'not' responsible for their actions.

Kids shouldn't have a curfew so they expend their extra energy being out late at night and have to sleep in and miss school so their parents can be arrested./sarcasm>

[tutstar]

If there's a law saying the kids must keep a curfew then it's every bit of the police's business.

The only folks I can think of that might hang out at a Denny's at 1a.m. are drunks and drug addicts (with a small portion of patrons consisting of adults who work shifts that might have them out at this hour.) Add teens to the mix and then there's a whole lot of other 'not good' things that could happen, which are criminal for either age group.

[Ethan_Allen]

Philadelphia Police Arrest 11 Christians for ‘Hate Crimes’ at Homosexual ‘Outfest’ 10/13/2004
By Robert Knight

Group is jailed for “ethnic intimidation,” “criminal conspiracy,” several other charges.



Ten adults and a teen-ager who showed up to sing hymns and carry signs peacefully at Philadelphia’s latest homosexual celebration were arrested on Sunday and spent 21 hours in jail.


According to Michael Marcavage, founder of Repent America, which organized the protest, the 11 defendants were charged with three felonies and five misdemeanors, including a “hate crime.” If convicted on all counts, the defendants could face 47 years in prison, he said.....

...Some of the charges may have been dropped since the defendants were released. Philadelphia Police spokeswoman Officer Maria Ibrahim said the current charges were: “criminal conspiracy,” **** “failure to disperse,” “disorderly conduct” and “obstructing a highway.” The District Attorney’s office had not returned a call to Concerned Women for America’s (CWA’s) Culture & Family Institute as of press time.....' http://www.cwfa.org/articles/6522/CFI/family/

[JeffAtlanta]

What the hell does blacks have to do with these local, repeat local, curfew rulings that now have been overturned by a bench of fatheaded liberals who live so far away from the roots of crime they need never worry.

Yeah, this was really a case of a good law... In his case, a white girl identified only as T.M. was cited by Pinellas Park police when she stepped beyond the curb of her friend's home, where she was staying overnight, to talk to some boys in a car at 1 a.m.

''She was there with her mother's permission. So this ordinance interfered with her mother's right as a parent giving consent to her child to stay over and her right to be in the street just talking to some boys,''

Why are you in favor of curfews only for minors? Why shouldn't the curfews include adults as well since minors aren't the only ones committing crimes? These laws are very anti-freedom. If children are breaking the law then enforce those laws. Why not just pass a law that forbids anyone, adult or minor, from being outdoors after dark? The crime rate would certainly go down.

Why should a person need a reason to be out? Do I need a reason to buy a Ferrari? Do you I need a reason to own a gun? Why should I need a reason to justify being out on the public roads or on the private property of a business that doesn't object? Why should the free citizens need to justify their movements to the government?

[Libertina]

OK, so all the BAD KIDS stay home! ;)

[gdani]

There are certain legal rights our society has agreed to grant one to receive when they reach adulthood, the 'rights' associated with adulthood vary from state to state as well the 'privileges'.

The constitutional rights of minors are (by and large) not subject to the whims of adults in society. Again, my copy of the Bill of Rights contains no age disclaimer. And if you read through the Constitution & Bill of Rights, age is only referenced twice (if I remember correctly) -- the age to vote and the age to be President. So it sounds like your real beef is with the Constitution.

Why should a minor have the right to be out in the middle of the night without an adult?

Uhh, because EVERYONE has (or should have) that right, so as long as they are not committing crimes.

[JeffAtlanta]

What do you think are legitimate reasons for a teen to be out past 11pm or midnight?

What does that matter? Should a free society demand that the citizens justify their every action with a "legitimate reason"? This was the entire argument used for the assault weapon ban - "is there really any legitimate reason for a person to need one of these deadly weapons"?

This kind of reasoning is what turns off so many otherwise conservative voters. It scares people when they see our party advocating a police state.

[JeffAtlanta]

If there's a law saying the kids must keep a curfew then it's every bit of the police's business.

Then you should have no problem with hate crime prosecutions.

[gdani]

The only folks I can think of that might hang out at a Denny's at 1a.m. are drunks and drug addicts (with a small portion of patrons consisting of adults who work shifts that might have them out at this hour.) Add teens to the mix and then there's a whole lot of other 'not good' things that could happen, which are criminal for either age group.

Not everyone goes to bed at 10pm, as you apparently do.

And your statement makes it sound like you support curfews for adults as well as minors.

[JeffAtlanta]

The only folks I can think of that might hang out at a Denny's at 1a.m. are drunks and drug addicts (with a small portion of patrons consisting of adults who work shifts that might have them out at this hour.) Add teens to the mix and then there's a whole lot of other 'not good' things that could happen, which are criminal for either age group.

Do you live in a trailer park or in the hood? I go to Denny's and Waffle House all the time late at night and its almost exclusively young adults working a school project or winding down from one and workers getting off of a late shift. If teenagers want to stay out late at Denny's at talk that should be only the concern of their parents. If they are being disruptive then the restaurant can have them removed. I've never seen this happen.

[been_lurking]

But I do have a healthy distrust of authority, one which has been proven correct in every case.

Do you personally have any authority over another? Are you a boss, supervisor, parent, etc.? Do you distrust your own authority?

[MEGoody]

"because they criminally punished parents and even shop owners who condoned or couldn't control kids' curfew-breaking."

Parents who can't do something about their kids breaking curfew? Those kind of parents NEED to be punished, along with the errant children.

[He Rides A White Horse]

Should a free society demand that the citizens justify their every action with a "legitimate reason"?

Children are not recognized as full citizens under the law (which you know already) nor do they have the full rights of an adult.

Usually those clamoring for these things are the ACLU, NAMBLA, and other assorted liberal creeps.

[Modernman]

Why should a minor have the right to be out in the middle of the night without an adult?

Shouldn't that be up to the parents to determine, rather than the gov't?

[gdani]

Children are not recognized as full citizens under the law (which you know already) nor do they have the full rights of an adult.

Well, if you're fond of picking & choosing what constitutional rights minors should enjoy, maybe we all shouldn't protest too loudly the next time a school infringes on the religious rights of a student.

See how that works?

[Modernman]

If there's a law saying the kids must keep a curfew then it's every bit of the police's business.

The debate here is whether thos laws are acceptable in the 1st place. I don't think they are.

The only folks I can think of that might hang out at a Denny's at 1a.m. are drunks and drug addicts (with a small portion of patrons consisting of adults who work shifts that might have them out at this hour.)

Or people coming back from a night on the town. Or night owls, like me. Or people who got hungry late at night.

Anyway, Denny's is free to ban people under a certain age from their restaurants after 11 pm or whatever. Why get the government involved?

[Modernman]

Well, if you're fond of picking & choosing what constitutional rights minors should enjoy, maybe we all shouldn't protest too loudly the next time a school infringes on the religious rights of a student.

BTTT.

[He Rides A White Horse]

Well, if you're fond of picking & choosing what constitutional rights minors should enjoy, maybe we all shouldn't protest too loudly the next time a school infringes on the religious rights of a student.

The school is infringing on the rights of a parent in that case. See how that works?