What are the most illogical U.S. laws you can think of?

[YmirGF]

FYI: at Canadian Forces Bases, the on-base bars will serve alcohol to servicemen and servicewomen, regardless of whether they’re of normal legal drinking age in the province the base is in.

I didn't know that. A government run facility that breaks its own law. Fascinating.

(Jeez, I just thought of the liability in this if a serviceperson went off base after having a few drinks and got into a MVA. Talk about a legal nightmare.)

Oh well, as long as they remember to use a person's preferred pronouns, eh?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

If a father has a shoeless daughter in his car, then is it incest too?

You'd have to ask Indiana's fine tradition of making law makers out of sheep screwers to find out, the same fine lawmakers who brought to a vote a bill that would have made it a legal possibility to square a circle, and come out with things such as pi coming out to 3.2.

 

[Revoltingest]

You'd have to ask Indiana's fine tradition of making law makers out of sheep screwers to find out, the same fine lawmakers who brought to a vote a bill that would have made it a legal possibility to square a circle, and come out with things such as pi coming out to 3.2.

By a fantastic coincidence, I once was discussing
coming of age with an Indiana lawmaker.
I asked him how his first sexual experience went.
His response...
"Not baaAAaaAAaaAAaad"

 

[Twilight Hue]

That’s right. What’s the problem with that (especially since it’s true)?

Riggghttt......it's somehow safer for bicycles to be hit by a 2000 pound car than a bicyclist hitting a pedestrian. Perfectly logical.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

By a fantastic coincidence, I once was discussing
coming of age with an Indiana lawmaker.
I asked him how his first sexual experience went.
His response...
"Not baaAAaaAAaaAAaad"

Reminds me of something in high school that didn't suck, for me anyways. This one guy got tripped up in a trickster's web of word trickery, and came out implying he screwed a goat, and was dubbed "goat boy." After we had a few laughs at his expense, he made things so much worse and harder on himself when he said "stooOOOoop it." "Goat Boy" ended up being a name that stuck.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Riggghttt......it's somehow safer for bicycles to be hit by a 2000 pound car than a bicyclist hitting a pedestrian. Perfectly logical.

Generally, a bike on the sidewalk is actually at higher risk of being hit by a car than bikes on the road are.

The vast majority of bike collisions happen at conflict points: driveways and intersections. When drivers are waiting to turn into a roadway, they tend to look for fast-moving conflicting traffic on the roadway, not the sidewalk.

On top of that, sidewalks are generally not lit to the same level as the roadway, or cleared of view obstructions to the same degree.

For more, check out #7 here if you’re interested: 11 Common Situations Cyclists Get Hit and How You Can Avoid Them

 

[Twilight Hue]

Generally, a bike on the sidewalk is actually at higher risk of being hit by a car than bikes on the road are.

The vast majority of bike collisions happen at conflict points: driveways and intersections. When drivers are waiting to turn into a roadway, they tend to look for fast-moving conflicting traffic on the roadway, not the sidewalk.

On top of that, sidewalks are generally not lit to the same level as the roadway, or cleared of view obstructions to the same degree.

For more, check out #7 here if you’re interested: 11 Common Situations Cyclists Get Hit and How You Can Avoid Them

Well it seems the increased inclusion of bike paths integrated into roadways alleviate some of the safety concerns. I can't count the times cars and trucks had to swerve into other lanes or cross the line just to get around a bicyclist.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Well it seems the increased inclusion of bike paths integrated into roadways alleviate some of the safety concerns. I can't count the times cars and trucks had to swerve into other lanes or cross the line just to get around a bicyclist.

It can definitely be uncomfortable for a cyclist to ride in mixed traffic, but comfort isn’t always a good indicator of risk. The stats are clear: the sidewalk isn’t a good place for bikes.

Off-road bike trails are fine when they’re available; they’re designed with bikes in mind. Sidewalks aren’t.

 

[Revoltingest]

It can definitely be uncomfortable for a cyclist to ride in mixed traffic, but comfort isn’t always a good indicator of risk. The stats are clear: the sidewalk isn’t a good place for bikes.

Stats never tell the whole story.
A cyclist who exercises care will be safer on sidewalks because they're free
(generally) of cars. But roads have drivers who in a split second can decide
to kill you just by moving over a few feet. (I had one try once. Btw, I survived.)
On sidewalks though, I've never even had a close call because, unlike roads,
I always have the ability to avoid fast moving cars. One need only be ready to
ride more slowly, & stop more often.

Nearly 70% of Car Accidents Occur Within 10 Miles of Home
This doesn't mean that we should avoid driving within 10 miles of home though.

 

[Twilight Hue]

It can definitely be uncomfortable for a cyclist to ride in mixed traffic, but comfort isn’t always a good indicator of risk. The stats are clear: the sidewalk isn’t a good place for bikes.

Off-road bike trails are fine when they’re available; they’re designed with bikes in mind. Sidewalks aren’t.

Sidewalks were never a problem when I was young. In my opinion they can accommodate bicyclists very well.

 

[Euronymous]

Imagine that... a perpetrator saying that his crime was an honest mistake.

The police and prosecutors - who I notice weren’t interviewed in that video - had the discretion not to press charges if they thought that it was just an honest misunderstanding.


Does “he says he didn’t know” necessarily imply “he didn’t know?”

I would think that the line “I didn’t know she was an underage” would be as much a cliche for sexual predators as “I was just holding it for a friend” is for drug dealers.

Well, if you watched the video, you can see that it was obvious that he was unaware of the girl's real age (which was 14), and even the girl admitted that she lied about her age, claiming to be 17 years old instead of 14 years old.

I mean, it seems like we got to the point of where you have to I.D. someone just for sex.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Well, if you watched the video, you can see that it was obvious that he was unaware of the girl's real age (which was 14), and even the girl admitted that she lied about her age, claiming to be 17 years old instead of 14 years old.

I saw the video. I saw his claim. I don’t think that it’s obvious he’s telling the truth.

I think it was telling that they never really answered the question of why the police and prosecutors thought the case was worth bringing forward.

 

[Euronymous]

I saw the video. I saw his claim. I don’t think that it’s obvious he’s telling the truth.

I think it was telling that they never really answered the question of why the police and prosecutors thought the case was worth bringing forward.

Well, someone can be charged with statutory rape regardless of whether they knew about their partner's real age or not.

Also, the girl ADMITTED that she lied about her age on the dating app Hot or Not, saying she was 17 years old instead of 14 years old.

 

[Revoltingest]

Well, someone can be charged with statutory rape regardless of whether they knew about their partner's real age or not.

Also, the girl ADMITTED that she lied about her age on the dating app Hot or Not, saying she was 17 years old instead of 14 years old.

Statutory rape is such a serious crime that even the innocent
must be harshly punished too. It sends a strong message.
Besides, he's probably guilty of something. Serves'm right!

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Well, someone can be charged with statutory rape regardless of whether they knew about their partner's real age or not.

Also, the girl ADMITTED that she lied about her age on the dating app Hot or Not, saying she was 17 years old instead of 14 years old.

“She said she was 17” does not necessarily imply “he had no reason to believe she was 14.”

You and I don’t have all the facts here. The police, prosecutors, and judge had all the facts; they decided that what he did was bad enough to warrant charging him, indicting him, finding him guilty, and sentencing him to jail. All you have is a basketful of assumptions about what happened.

Edit: that and a tale of woe from a perp complaining that he was hard done by, but those are a dime a dozen.

 

[Curious George]

“She said she was 17” does not necessarily imply “he had no reason to believe she was 14.”

You and I don’t have all the facts here. The police, prosecutors, and judge had all the facts; they decided that what he did was bad enough to warrant charging him, indicting him, finding him guilty, and sentencing him to jail. All you have is a basketful of assumptions about what happened.

Edit: that and a tale of woe from a perp complaining that he was hard done by, but those are a dime a dozen.

Whether he had or did not have a reason to believe she was 14, does not matter for the crime with which he was charged.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Whether he had or did not have a reason to believe she was 14, does not matter for the crime with which he was charged.

It does matter to your argument that his sentence was unjust.

 

[Curious George]

It does matter to your argument that his sentence was unjust.

I don't think I question his sentence. I do question the sentencing attached to any strict liability crime.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I don't think I question his sentence. I do question the sentencing attached to any strict liability crime.

My mistake: I mis-remembered. I thought you had written the OP.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Well, take a look at the statutory rape law that I found:

View attachment 20268
I got this from: Statutory Rape - FindLaw

And now I wait with baited breath for you to say how you think this is relevant to my post.