Respect for Law and 'Rules'

T

TahoeHorn

1,000+ Posts
Of laws and ethical rules which don't receive society's full respect, which ones do you respect? (I'll list the topic, not the law.)

Smoking pot
Smoking hash
Snorting coke
Growing pot
Prostitution
Buying illegal porn
Underage sex between two underage people
Copping a feel in a crowded bar
No doesn't mean no
If they're drunk they don't say no
Streaking
Skinny dipping on public land against ordinance
Underage drinking
Drinking and driving
Drunk in public
Buying alcohol for 18-20 year olds
Buying cigarettes for minors
Smoking cigarettes as a minor
Jaywalking
Littering
Hunting without a license
Hunting while trespassing
Hunting out of season
Exceeding bag limit
Same four for fishing
Removing pollution equipment
Cheating on expense account
Cheating on income taxes
Cheating on sales taxes
Cheating on luxury (e.g. cigarette) taxes
Failing to declare import items like alcohol
Travelling to Cuba
Buying banned items like Cuban cigars
Buying stolen goods
Using pirated software
Using pirated music

I'm sure there are more laws and rules which don't command widespread supprt, like laws on murder or car theft or such, but this is a start.

For laws which you don't support fully:
- do you still think the law should exist?
- do you acknowledge to friends that you break the law?
- do you obey the law but are ambivalent about those who don't?
- do you break the law but want your kids to obey it?

What should society do about laws which don't have full support?

The items in the above list obviously do not all have the same lack of support in society. What principles do you apply?
 
I would have never guessed I am as law abiding as I am. None of the items on your list have been issue in my life.

I would guess I have broken the jaywalking law at one time or another. To be honest I try to spend most of my time in places where they don't have such a law.

I do think todays society has little respect for a lot of laws if they are in disagreement with what they want to do. I do believe that is the product of passing to many laws that attempt to control peoples personal behavior and to legislate morality.

I have never done any illegal drugs nor have I had any desire to do so. Legal or not I don't think I would do any. But I do think a lot of those laws are stupid and have a negative impact on the respect that young people have for the government.

I look at the pot laws a lot like I look at laws like wearing seat belts or putting kids in car seats. These are judgment calls. There is probably a clear choice that is better than other choices available but your decision shouldn't be legislated or mandated.
 
I basically don't support any law that takes away one's own decision that would only directly affect themselves. I think just about everyone supports (or at least respects/understands) laws that would directly affect other people such as murder, cheating, fraud, trespassing, ect. It's just the social and morality laws that there's a huge split. Any laws that are there because of our government's attempt at social engineering should go away.
 
There are exceedingly good reasons for the regulations on hunting and fishing. The fees go to provide suitable habitat for the hunted species, and the seasonal limits attempt to ensure a viable and sustainable population.
I would convict someone were I on a jury for violating these laws, but almost all the others-I really doubt it, I would be a jury nullifier. Maybe "no means no," although this gets into he said she said areas, but rape is certainly not a casual law to disregard.
 
You should add "Speeding", "Rolling through a stop sign", and "I swear it was yellow when I hit the intersection!"
 
I actually violated the "hunting without a license" provision a while back simply because the Wal-Mart in Lampasas is one of the few that closes at 11 pm. I walked around for 10 minutes, found a person, asked to buy a license and was summarily kicked out because it was 10:57. I'll buy a super combo and duck stamps on my way home, which means that it's ultimately a wash. However, a game warden probably would not see things that way.

I also "stole" the Blood Diamond soundtrack because the physical disks aren't stocked anywhere and Amazon doesn't offer it for download.

As for sexual assault, I'm not sure how it got on your list of things that one might be willing to let slide.
 
R = respect or would
N = dont or wouldnt respect

Smoking pot - D
Smoking hash - D
Snorting coke - D
Growing pot - D
Prostitution - D
Buying illegal porn (do you mean underage - if so ) R
Underage sex between two underage people - D
Copping a feel in a crowded bar - R
No doesn't mean no - No means No
If they're drunk they don't say no - Would not do this
Streaking - D
Skinny dipping on public land against ordinance - D
Underage drinking - would not help it but did it lots
Drinking and driving - R
Drunk in public - R generally but as a matter of taste
Buying alcohol for 18-20 year olds - R
Buying cigarettes for minors - R
Smoking cigarettes as a minor - R
Jaywalking - D
Littering -R
Hunting without a license - R
Hunting while trespassing - R
Hunting out of season - R
Exceeding bag limit - R
Same four for fishing - R
Removing pollution equipment - R
Cheating on expense account - R
Cheating on income taxes - R
Cheating on sales taxes - R
Cheating on luxury (e.g. cigarette) taxes - R
Failing to declare import items like alcohol - R
Travelling to Cuba - D
Buying banned items like Cuban cigars - D
Buying stolen goods - If I Know I wont, if I just suspect i will
Using pirated software - R
Using pirated music - R
 
There's also the difference between the letter of the law and the intent of the law. The poster who was refused a hunting license because it was late and went hunting the next day isn't the same as a poacher entering a wildlife preserve and shooting a whooping crane, like happened a couple of years ago. Jaywalking around UT campus, WTF, gimme a break. Jaywalking across IH-35, another matter.
There are degrees of everything.
 
SoonerTuf buys burnt orange ZR1 Corvettes for his longhorn buddies when he losses a bet on Texas-OU. HorninHongKong, I doubt it. Advantage sooner.
 
what about drinking in a car as a passenger? ive always hated this one, i should be able to be drunk in the backseat on a long roadtrip.
 
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