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Curfew Laws: Bullshit, or Bullshittiest?
sdrawkcaB emaN
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I actually know nothing about the origin of curfew laws, or any of their effects, but I just got a fucking ticket because of it, and my friend is getting busted for possession because the officers smelled pot when they came over to the car. Also, curfew is fucking 10:00 PM here? That's kind of ridiculous, I'd say.
Bottom line is that I have no rational or evidenced claims to make against curfew, but fuck curfew, motherfuckers.
Bottom line is that I have no rational or evidenced claims to make against curfew, but fuck curfew, motherfuckers.
sdrawkcaB emaN on
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If so, that's bull. Only in emergency situations could this be useful.
Honestly, I'm not really even sure what the law is.
I mean, can you be at the movie theater to catch a late film? Can you be driving to a specific destination? I think we were parked? It's a bit difficult to remember, but maybe that has something to do with it.
Presumably, the officer smelled weed, which gave him probable cause for a search, where he in turn found weed. Keep your window cracked when talking to a policeman--rolling it down all the way opens up the possibility that he'll claim to have smelled something as an excuse to search, which you really can't do anything about.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
SCOTUS hasn't ruled yet, but lower courts have offered a variety of reasons. Here's one case:
I've also read: violating freedom of movement under the 14th, and no legitimate state interest.
Vandalism statutes keep bored kids from trashing areas of the city. Try again.
I somehow suspect that if you're driven to vandalize areas of a city because of boredom, you'll probably not care all too much that there is a law making it illegal for you to be out past 10pm.
Really, I can't think of any reasonable defense of curfew laws. I've never actually heard of one being enforced, honestly, though it really shouldn't surprise me.
All a curfew will do is disperse the kids. How, exactly, does a curfew stop kids "trashing" anything?
Oh yeah, it doesn't.
But it gives cops an excuse to harass people. You have to let the cops harass somebody, or else they get all pent up and start going agro on the town like soccer fans on world cup night.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Works for me, though the recognizing-the-rights-of-the-parents is the one that resonates with me the most.
Probably unsurprisingly.
This is interesting, because I live in LA county, so I wonder if that San Diego ruling has any bearing on me?
I also found out that Santa Monica does techincally have a curfew law on the books, but they have a record of never ever enforcing it, so I'm going to see if I can't ask for a change in venue. My mom lives there, so I think I probably could, and there's a much greater chance of the ticket being dismissed there.
Re: Marijuana -- I didn't get busted, as I had none on me (and never have, and never will, for just this reason), but my friend did get busted. The cop smelled it, asked if there was any in the car, and my friend said "yes," and showed them where it was. We figured it was best to cooperate, since we didn't really know the law.
They also took his gorgeous, immense $250 bong. Which is a total bummer.
Basically, I'm going to try to get this moved to Santa Monica, explain that I was being dropped off at home, and see what happens. Hopefully it'll be dismissed, because I don't want to pay a fucking curfew ticket.
Additional bullshit: The reason this law got enforced (something that's never happened before to any of my friends, despite their frequent adventures in enlightenment performed in cars late at night) is that the local Home Owners Association installed security cameras to keep punk kids out of their neighborhood. The local head of the HOA also apparently had nothing better to do then drive out to congratulate the cops on busting us.
Also, I got handcuffed, which seemed really, really unnecessary.
They need an excuse now? I thought that was what the badge and stick were for.
Which is really going to clash with the extremely late hours the movie theater they just opened up has.
Yeah, totally. I mean, I've seen tons of late-night movie showings. I had no idea there was anything wrong with this!
"Parents should enforce curfew."
I think the curfew law is for kids who "FUCK DA ESTABLISHMUNT AND DA POLEESE" and all of that. It's not necessarily trying to keep them off the streets from vandalizing, but what fucking good are they doing roaming at 3 in the morning?
While we're at it, why don't we have curfews for everyone without some kind of valid night work pass? I mean, what fucking good are you doing roaming at 3 in the morning?
Welcome to Airstrip One.
What's the validity of that? It's for people under 18, at that point I'm sure most people say, "Well, you've been a fuck up this long. Go ahead and stay out as long as you want." I've never heard of a curfew law affecting anyone that is not considered an adult (18+ and such).
The point is that any argument that justifies a curfew on teenagers can also justify a curfew on adults. The only difference is that some people think it's acceptable to treat teenagers like they're not quite human just because they're teenagers.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
And what good would treating them as equals be? I'm fucking 17 and can agree with this. You're 28 (I guess) and acting like the man is keeping you down.
With age comes responsibility, not fucking everyone is ready to be mature about situations and take care of themselves at 16 or any age younger. 18 is a stretch from some of the people I know, but its never posed a real problem for me anyhow.
I don't see how being out late somehow automatically implies any wrongdoing is occuring. What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? For that matter, what happened to political rights? It seems like nowadays people let the government do something if they themselves like it, and don't care what power boundaries are crossed in the process.
Incorrect question. All humans are equal unless there is a good reason to treat them as inequals. The correct question is, "What would be gained by treating them as lesser citizens." In this case, I can't see any. Loitering is already illegal (regardless of age), vandalism is already illegal (regardless of age), disorderly conduct is already illegal (regardless of age).
Yep, 28. I had enough 'man keeping me down' during my teenage years that I'll be tasting his fucking boot for the rest of my life. It's pretty bitter, let me tell you.
Not necessarily.
Then when they display immaturity react to them appropriately. Do not preemptively assume that they are immature.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
What were you guys doing when you were caught by the police? And getting handcuffed is pretty much Standard Operating Procedure when you find drugs on someone, even if it just weed. I've known plenty of violent people who liked to smoke the herb.
I've known violent people who liked to drink coca-cola.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Because obviously an illegal controlled substance is equivalent to a soft drink, and I get handcuffed for having a cola in my car all the time.
Do you really want to carry this non sequitur further?
I don't see what being illegal has to do with being used by violent people. If coca-cola was made illegal, it wouldn't suddenly mean that everybody who drank it and are violent are violent in any way because of the coca-cola. It would just mean that some violent people like drinking coca-cola. I say we handcuff everybody who is seen drinking beer because I know violent people who drink it.
If you guys really want to turn this into an anti cop circle jerk, just say so now and I'll let you guys compare how you're stickin it to da man.
Otherwise, let's deal with reality and accept that if you find drugs in a car, its probably a good idea to handcuff all involved until you do a search of a car so someone dosen't put a knife in your back.