Handcuffed & Arrested for Littering??

[djpcps]

Is this what is next?  After the Supreme Court upheld the ruling on the court case from Texas, where a woman was handcuffed, arrested, and jailed for not wearing a seatbelt and not buckling up her children - is the next outrage going to be cuffed and jailed for littering?  Littering actually carries a higher fine than seatbelt violations - you might end up with jail time!!  Granted, the law was broken - but this decision leaves the door open for so much abuse of power that I can only imagine what the next freedom to be taken away will be.  We already have cases where police have shot "dangerous criminals" who fled to avoid being served warrants for misdemeanors.  And in Atlanta, a high speed chase of a man wanted for minor offenses led to the death of an innocent father and son.  It is one thing to grant power to law enforcement to protect citizens - but completely different to give them the power to so aggressively pursue minor offenders.  If law enforcement and the courts took all the time spent on minor offenses, and used that time and effort aggressively apprehending and prosecuting the violent offenders/felons, then our courts and jails would not be so overcrowded.  If jail time were reserved for crimes against the "person or property" of another, our tax dollars could be spent on more worthwhile causes than building jails.  I've seen it quoted, but don't remember who said it, that by the year 2015 over half of the American population will be or will have been jailed at some point.  Doesn't that tell you we have way too many laws?

[radaro]

Although I can't say much about the other laws, this woman did more than break a seatbelt law.  I would say she should be charged with "reckless endanderment".  



She put her children in a dangerous situation.  Since the kids are likely too young to know to do up their own seatbelts, she need to seatbelt her kids.  Even if she had been in a minor accident, it is likely that these children would have been seriously injured or killed.  Even at 10 miles an hour, these kids would become projectiles in an accident.



What if she let her kids play with a loaded gun?  Then you would want her to be arrested for "reckless endangerment".  As far as I'm concerned she put her kids in the same danger.



Don't extrapolate out to all other broken laws because this is more than a minor "seatbelt" infraction.

[radaro]

About this quote:

"I've seen it quoted, but don't remember who said it, that by the year 2015 over half of the American population will be or will have been jailed at some point."



Remember there are three types of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics.

[djpcps]

Okay - I guess I can agree about the reckless endangerment - that's what she should have been charged with, but she wasn't.  She was charged with a seatbelt violation.  If it had been reported as reckless conduct or child endangerment though, I guess it wouldn't have made such a sensational story for the media, huh?  



As for the quote and your response - yes, anyone can manipulate statistics to make them fit their own purposes or put their own "spin" on them.  The quote was probably not meant to be taken literally, but to make people think.



But my point was that one by one, our freedoms are being legislated away in order to protect someone, somewhere - to the point of protecting competent adults from themselves.  And every time they make a new law, more people will be jailed for doing something they have always done - only suddenly it is illegal.  Just a few years ago, there was no seatbelt law in my state and probably there wasn't in Texas where this happened.  This was a very hard habit for me to learn when they did pass the law. When I was growing up, my parents would never have knowingly put us in danger - but all of us were allowed to ride in the very back of a station wagon - you know, in the seat facing the cars behind us - and not all cars even HAD seatbelts!  Or even better was riding in the back of a pickup - now it's against the law unless you're over 18 and in some states even that may be illegal.  So, yeah, it feels to me like we have too many laws - but you have a perfect right to feel otherwise as long as you respect my right to feel the way I do.

[radaro]

I respect your rights to your own opinion. This is something that I try to instill in my children.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and an opinion is not right or wrong, it's just an opinion.



Like you, I really feel the state trouper in this case over-reacted.  But, since I didn't see the news report, I don't know if the woman resisted arrest or did anything else that made the arresting officer feel that handcuffs were necessary.  I do think that she should have been charged with reckless endangerment along with the seatbelt violation.



In the mean time, DJPCPS, what I hope will be my final point.  Where do these laws come from?  They do not spring up magically overnight but instead are voted in by the majority.  Perhaps if you feel that there are too many new laws you should become more involved in the legislative process.

[djpcps]

Over the last couple of years, I have become more aware of things like this happening and I have been educating myself on the political process, how laws are enacted, researching special interest groups and lobbyists, etc.  I have read everything printed on consensual crimes, and on laws enacted to protect competent adults from themselves.



Instead of merely voting occasionaly like many people, I have joined my chosen political party, actively write letters to my congressman and senators on the issues, and frequently write letters to the editor of the Atlanta papers, etc. I take a lot of teasing about being such a political animal, but if I don't voice my opinion no one else will.



The next step for me is to volunteer on projects and/or campaigns.  Who knows?  Someday, I might even run for office!

[sungoddesslv]

I'm not familiar with the incident in which you are referring; however, I must agree with you about our rights.  FAA regulations are one thing -- the plane cannot leave the jetway until all seatbelts are fastened.  But in my own car!  I can remember when I was a young child and knee pads and helmets weren't even invented yet (okay they were invented) and we rode our bikes, played on skates, had skate boards -- worst injury was a scrapped knee.  Now if parents let their kids out with all the protective gear, the other parents think that they are delinquent in the parental duties.



I'm sure that our cars had seatbelts but they were required either.  You would think that our leaders would have better things to bring before the House/Senate than whether or not a kid should wear a helmet when he rides his bike.  Shouldn't some of these things just be common sense and let the parents take responsibility.  



 

[djpcps]

Have you read a short essay called "The Death of Common Sense"?  You'll find it in the Humor Forum, but it's not funny.  Once society jumped on the bandwagon of "if it only saves one life", our freedom has diminished step by step.  All it takes is for a special interest group to lobby legislators on an issue that makes them sound tough on crime, or gives them a sound bite to show how they care about children - they take it and run with it, bartering among themselves for support.  One may put aside his reservations about infringing on liberty in the name of getting support for his own pet project.  One could trade support for a Dr. Seuss memorial for a vote for a bill that allows police to use infrared devices to scan the outside of your house.  Each politician is out to bring back as much government money (our money) to his constituents as he possibly can.  Supporting some of these freedom robbing bills is the price of getting his voters what they want.  



America was founded on the rights of each person to live as they please as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights of another - to cause no harm to the person or property of another.  That's why I've turned into such a political person - to try and wake up some more people like myself who have gone about their business, paying little notice, because it didn't affect me personally.  Something I read once stuck in my mind - it was about Nazi Germany and how they came for one group of people after another but he didn't speak up for them because it didn't affect him - until they came for him and there was no one left to speak for him.