TresSugar

Real or Fake: Weird American Sex Laws

TresSugar — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:00:00 -0700

From it's illegal to have sex inside a toll booth in Harrisburg, PA, to single women can't parachute on Sundays in Florida, there are a lot of so-called sex laws in the US. Most of them can't be proven and are probably urban legends, but I've dug up a few and done my best to verify them. See if you can spot fake-weird sex laws from the real weird.

Photo by Flickr User Love Earth

Take the quiz

Librarians to Patrons: Shhhower!

CitizenSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:01:40 -0700

Have any of you Bay Area readers ever been to the Berkeley Public Library? It's a beautiful historical building, but some days has an acquired smell that can't exactly be attributed to old books.

Well, Schaumburg Township District Library in Illinois has now added "offensive bodily odors" to the forbidden list, which already includes talking, running, and beverages! The library says it will kick people out if their stenches disrupt others' use of the facility.

While a pleasant smell would make for a more enjoyable library visit, you could argue that the ban discriminates against poor people. If people don't have access to showers, I'd bet that they don't have access to a computer either. . . unless they can go to the library.

Source

NY County Has to Remove DWI "Wall of Shame": Fair Move?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:15:27 -0700

Drunk drivers are losing part of their 15 minutes of shame after a judge's ruling deemed that New York's Nassau County had been violating due process by posting the mug shots of DWI suspects on its Internet "Wall of Shame." The county began posting the mug shots of DWI arrests on Memorial Day, and has since been sued by one woman who was pictured. She said the online gallery was unconstitutional as it was posted before her trial. The county attorney says the mugshots are public documents and are just being given a public airing.

The judge however points to the power of the web, saying that posting the photos to the Internet creates "limitless and eternal notoriety." However, the county executive and proponent of the "Wall" says of the program, "The objective of what we're trying to do here is to change the culture that exists related to drunk driving, that it's not just a socially acceptable crime."

Since the Memorial Day start of the program, more than 1,400 drunk drivers have been pictured, and drunk driving arrests are up 6 percent over the previous year.

German Faces Five Years in Prison For Holocaust Denial

LibertySugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0700

The trial of a 72-year-old former left-wing terrorist group founder, and current neo-Nazi, began today in Germany. Horst Mahler is accused of posting documents online denying the Holocaust. Mahler likes trouble, as he received an 11-month sentence last year for delivering the Nazi salute at his prison booking for a previous conviction. And in 2003, he had to pay thousands of euros in fines for saying the Sept. 11 attacks were justified.

Mahler could spend five years in prison, if convicted of Holocaust denial. German law specifically prohibits anyone from claiming that the genocide of the Jews did not occur. A total of 13 countries forbid denial, including: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Switzerland.

Outlawing neo-Nazism is an obvious choice, but what about criminalizing Holocaust denial- is that a reasonable limit on speech, crucial to making sure the atrocities are never forgotten and never happen again? Should the prohibition include the Internet?

Source

Guilty Simpson On Own in Jail, Focused on Coming Appeal

CitizenSugar — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:53:11 -0700

After being found guilty of kidnapping and robbery, OJ Simpson is being being held away from other prisoners for his own safety, and is planning a motion for new trial. He's waiting to see if he'll be released on bond pending that appeal, a move considered unlikely due to the seriousness of the crimes he was convicted of. His attorney said Simpson will be alone, is planning not to do media interviews and is allowed to see only family members and a few friends.

Simpson will be held in Clark County Detention Center until his early December sentencing, then it's thought he'll be transferred to state prison. His lawyer says, "He is in isolated custody and being protected from other inmates. The jail is taking very special precautions to make sure he is safe." Surprised at the guilty verdict? Do you think it was payback by the jury? Are you into the OJ saga - or is the juice just not worth the squeeze?

Source

Man Fined For Taking "Unchivalrous" Photo: Snap Judgment?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:45:53 -0700

Ever been tagged in an embarrassing Facebook pic? In the UK you might just have a legal leg to stand on to stop those pictures from ever being taken. One 28-year-old mailman was just fined $200 for snapping what the judge deemed an "unchivalrous" photo of a woman. . . . decorating the gutter outside of a bar. The woman's friends called the police after the man took the picture and he was charged with breach of the peace.

The judge says of the fine levied, "I'm going to impose a fine to remind him chivalry is not dead and when somebody is in distress you leave them to it." His lawyer says he regrets the "error of judgment." Of snapping the puking pic his lawyer says, "It was ill-judged, it was a spontaneous act and entirely inappropriate. He accepts it was conduct liable to cause upset and did in fact cause upset. It's been a matter of severe regret for him. He's extremely anxious and very contrite about the affair."

Source

Troopers Riding in Big Rigs to Nab Drivers: Smart or Sneaky?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:30:13 -0700

Over a two days this week, Oregon State Police and sheriffs (perhaps better known by their CB radio code, "Boy Scouts") hitched a ride with big-rig truckers on the hunt for aggressive drivers who wouldn't suspect a "Smokey" ride along and wouldn't have time to "brush their teeth and comb their hair" (shout out for a radar trap ahead.)

Leaving the "bubble gum machine" (cop car) at home, the troopers were able to nab 38 drivers in just two days. From their shotgun perches, most of the drivers were ticketed for driving over a "double nickel" (55 mph) and never saw it coming.

The ODOT safety manager says "Research shows that most truck vs. car crashes could be avoided if drivers knew how to steer clear of unsafe situations. With this campaign, we hope to increase awareness, encourage safer driving practices and make a positive change in the risky driving behaviors of motorists - all of which will lead to fewer crashes, fatalities, and injuries on Oregon's roadways."

Is planting troopers in a big rig a creative solution - or a little bit like a speed trap taken too far?

Source

UK Debates Holding Terror Suspects For 42 Days: Too Long?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:15:55 -0700

The US isn't the only country with a firm eye on terrorism - and they're certainly not alone walking the tricky line between government abilities to crack down in meaningful ways and civil liberties. The British House of Commons is set to vote on a measure allowing police to detain people for up to 42 days without charge if they're suspected of terrorism-related activities.

Human rights organizations are outraged by the provision. Amnesty International, has launched an online petition called, "Say 'No' to 42 Days" saying of the measure, "Allowing police to lock people up for a month and a half without charge will undermine basic human rights to which everyone in the UK is entitled." Human Rights Watch issued a statement saying that, "giving British authorities the power to detain terrorism suspects for up to six weeks without charge violates the fundamental right to liberty and risks undermining counterterrorism efforts."

Those closer to the government are speaking out as well. To see what they had to say, read more.

The former British spy chief says holding suspects for six weeks is excessive. Though the bill might be defeated in the House of Lords, it faces a round of political back and forth if the government insists on the plan. The House of Lords own blog says it's probably a portion of the bill that will ultimately be decided by the courts.

With the government in Britain already able to access scads of personal information, where is the line between safety and rights? Is 42 days too long to be held without charge?

Source

Judge Throws Out Case Against "Ladies' Night": Right Call?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:15:54 -0700

A judge in New York City has thrown out a lawsuit alleging that "Ladies' Night" pricing at bars and nightclubs discriminates against men. The lawsuit was brought by an attorney known for his fight against gender-specific constructs like suing Columbia University for its Women's Studies department. (Have you heard the one about the Men's Studies department? It's called "History." But I digress.) Now the gender-equalizer is taking his fight to the $3 cosmo.

The judge tossed the case saying that bars and nightclubs have a right to price their product any which way they'd like because they're not acting as representatives of the state. The attorney's case tried to prove that through the state-run liquor license program, it does just that. After losing, he called the judge a feminist and said that the toss-out was right on par with the deeply embedded gender discrimination in tons of American institutions.

It makes one wonder if this crusading lawyer has ever gotten his hair cut or clothes dry-cleaned. I reckon he makes back the difference in "Ladies' Night" at the bar right there . . .

Does any gender preference signify discrimination? Drinks aside, is the lawyer fundamentally wrong?

Source

NE Town Bans Porch Couches: Should Lawmakers Relax?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:00:00 -0700

Perhaps fearing scenes just like this dotting older neighborhoods, the town of Lincoln, NE, just passed a law banning indoor furniture from being used outside. The development could have big ramifications on the chillaxing abilities of the town's large population of college students, traditionally grand proponents of the "porch couch."

The city council voted 5-2 in favor of the new measure, and no one testified against the proposal during the open public hearing. An aide close to the mayor says he intends to sign the ordinance into effect on Oct. 7. Other towns have similar aesthetic or quality of life bans on furniture outside, including Ames, IA, Boulder, CO, and East Lansing, MI, but some question whether the law unfairly targets the large population of students renting homes in older neighborhoods. Is it discriminatory? Should lawmakers have the ability to legislate what you can put on your own property?

Source