The response to:
So here is my response to the Stossel piece: While it is true there are likely dozens and dozens of superfluous and burdensome laws on the books, they are almost never acted upon by law enforcement. Very rarely if ever will police officers waste their time enforcing lemonade stand or girl scout cookie sales kids soliciting laws unless there is a complaint, or several complaints from other citizens. Just like police would never on their own accord enforce a noise ordinance unless there was a complaint. So it is not superfluous and burdensome laws that are to blame in these situations, but asshole citizens who want to ruin everyone else's fun and just need to complain about something. Every neighborhood has that one nosy, crochety, old asshole that has nothing to do all day but call the police on skateboarders and teens talking to loudly as they walk through the neighborhood. You, I, and everyone that was ever a child has fell victim to these types of people, who basically annoy the police into enforcing dumb laws that exist that they would rather not enforce. And in general soliciting laws, and I am sure lobster container laws, exist for a purpose....
For instance, to keep every street corner from having guys selling everything from knockoff bags and jewelry to stereos and socks put of their vans on every street corner. Here in Chicago you have probably seen the many street carts of fried foods, ice cream, and pickup trucks selling fruit on the side of North Avenue. Almost none of those people have licenses to sell that stuff, or have passed proper health inspections, but even in a revenue hungry city like Chicago, the police drive right past them and don't bother wasting their time, unless of course, some old bored asshole calls to complain.
So here is my response to the Stossel piece: While it is true there are likely dozens and dozens of superfluous and burdensome laws on the books, they are almost never acted upon by law enforcement. Very rarely if ever will police officers waste their time enforcing lemonade stand or girl scout cookie sales kids soliciting laws unless there is a complaint, or several complaints from other citizens. Just like police would never on their own accord enforce a noise ordinance unless there was a complaint. So it is not superfluous and burdensome laws that are to blame in these situations, but asshole citizens who want to ruin everyone else's fun and just need to complain about something. Every neighborhood has that one nosy, crochety, old asshole that has nothing to do all day but call the police on skateboarders and teens talking to loudly as they walk through the neighborhood. You, I, and everyone that was ever a child has fell victim to these types of people, who basically annoy the police into enforcing dumb laws that exist that they would rather not enforce. And in general soliciting laws, and I am sure lobster container laws, exist for a purpose....
For instance, to keep every street corner from having guys selling everything from knockoff bags and jewelry to stereos and socks put of their vans on every street corner. Here in Chicago you have probably seen the many street carts of fried foods, ice cream, and pickup trucks selling fruit on the side of North Avenue. Almost none of those people have licenses to sell that stuff, or have passed proper health inspections, but even in a revenue hungry city like Chicago, the police drive right past them and don't bother wasting their time, unless of course, some old bored asshole calls to complain.
I must say I was stunned that he would even attempt to justify the govt's actions shown in the video. When I pressed him if he really thought a man should go to jail over lobster boxes, he said this:
Sure it is, but like I said, things like that don't happen without reason usually. Perhaps the guy was warned or fined time and time again and continued to skirt the law. In some cities you can be arrested for not mowing your lawn if you continue to ignore the ordinance and refuse to pay associated fines. Do I think that's dumb? Yes. Sure. But these types of examples are extreme and rare. I mean I wouldn't say I was a victim of the system, but I certainly believe their should be a distinction between grabbing girls asses, and child rape. Or that a 19 year old dating a 17 year old should be charged with statutory rape. More often than not, when these things happen, it's because the person on the receiving end pissed off the wrong person. In my case for instance, one of my victims, was the court stenographers daughter, and the prosecutor was a rape victim. So they really wanted to throw the boom at me and pretty much saddled me with as much as the could for misdemeanors. But that doesn't mean I believe there shouldn't be sex offender registration or laws for these kinds of things. In most cases, the system just needs to be revised and amended, not torn down. If your boat is leaking, you try to patch the leak, not sink the whole damn thing.
I forgot to mention this guy is convicted violent sex offender. He spent the ages from 17 to 20 grabbing the asses of random women.
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