Name something that's illegal and shouldn't be -

[StellaBlue]

and don't repost something someone else has already suggested!

Mine: moonshining (anybody watching the program on the History Channel at the moment?)

[NMMNG]

1. Marijuana

[Floogeldy]

2. Marijuana

Oh SHIT. I fucked up. ;)

[Book Lover]

3. Adult prostitution (nm)

[LeftyMom]

4. Going 85 or so in the Nevada desert and other long empty stretches of road

Long straight roads where you can't even see another car half the time don't really need a daytime speed limit at all, IMO. Just ticket people for going faster than conditions warrant

[fishwax]

6. I remember when Montana operated under that philosophy

after the federal speed limit was revoked in '94 (same deal before the federal speed limit, but that was before my time). The speed limit there and then was "safe and reasonable," which meant you could zip up to Billings (I lived just outside MT's southern border) at 80-85 without fear of cops. It was great. A single driver, who had been ticketed more than once for going over 100 mph, claimed the statute was vague, thus ruining it for everybody.

During the years of the federal speed limit, I was always told, the fine for exceeding the 65 mph speed limit was a whopping five bucks, and if you paid the officer at the scene it wouldn't go on your insurance :)

[Book Lover]

46. I understood "safe and reasonable" was no good because

your idea of safe and the cop's idea of safe could be very different. You had a different experience?

[fishwax]

52. I didn't have any interaction with cops under safe and reasonable

I'd go between 80 and 90 if the weather was good, slower if it was raining. I never got pulled over.

But yes, in essence, I think you're right--the law was vague in that it didn't spell out a specific speed that was safe, and someone ticketed for driving well over 100 challenged the law, saying that he felt his speed was safe. So a firm limit was set, problem solved. Now if you're going over 80 you've got a good shot at a ticket.

[Whoa_Nelly]

14. Ever had to stop suddenly on one of those NV desert roads?

Cows, burros and wild horses to name a few reasons... :D




I almost hit a coyote on Hwy. 93 on my way to Tonapah late one night. A friend of mine actually hit a cow and totaled her car.


All that being said...DAMN! But it's fun sometimes to just go 95 in BFE NV! :woohoo:

[jobycom]

21. I totalled a car on I-10 in the west Texas desert because of a porcupine.

And I was only doing 65. You raise a good point. The speed limit on that road now is 80. If I'd been doing 80 I or one of my children could be dead. The speed limit at night, at least, shouldn't be that high.

[barb162]

5. pet ownership laws where the number of pets is regulated

such as you can have up to 3 dogs. I understand the authorities don't want hoarding. But limiting it to 3 when one has a large property or house doesn't make sense

[Nicole]

7. Gay Marriage n/t

[leftofthedial]

8. sex threads in the Lounge

[SKKY]

43. I 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th that!!!!!!

[khashka]

9. Drugs, Prostitution

Certain types of homocide.....

Khash.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. I'm with you, my dear Khash.....

:hug:

[Crabby Appleton]

53. me three

got my vote

[smokey nj]

11. Absinthe n/t

[Liberal In Texas]

12. Absinthe. Illegal in the US.

Just because, absenthe makes the heart grow fonder...(LOL)

Gin and ouzo are legal. As are a whole bunch of nutty inspiring drinks.

[SKKY]

18. Which is exactly why I enjoy it while living here in Spain...

...although, I may "sneak" a bottle or 10 back with me when I leave.

[jobycom]

22. It's not completely illegal

You can order it online. We had this discussion a while back around here. You can buy a bottle and have it shipped. It just can't be sold in stores or bars, or made here. And while you can buy "absinthe" in Europe, the narcotic element is limited, and it's not the same level you could buy in the days of Hemmingway.

A couple of other points--it's more of a narcotic than an alcohol. You get a little drunk, supposedly (I've never tried it), at first, but then you enter a hallucination stage, and that's what people strove for. And a lot of hype surrounds some of the great creative minds who drank it--Hemmingway, Van Gogh, etc. Go down the list and count how many of the heavy users committed suicide.

Dangerous, scary, wonderful stuff, that absynthe. Kind of like love. Buy it here and give me a report, would you? http://www.absinth.com/cgi-bin/s_cart04/perlshop.cgi

[smokey nj]

62. Hubby and I ordered some this winter...........

The taste is reminiscent of green NyQuil, only stronger. I found it's easier to drink as a shot.

[jobycom]

68. Wow. I actually like the taste of green Nyquil.

I need an unhealthy addiction. I've lived too clean a life! :)

[MRDU]

13. Beer on Sunday.

But I'm in Georgia!

[outofbounds]

23. Me too!

That is the stupidest law. You buy beer Saturday night for Sunday. Invariably friends come over and drink your pre-planned portion.You run out of coldweiser and head to Florida. Hell of a way to promote drunk driving.

[LynneSin]

26. You must not live in Delaware

it's all legal with alcohol here in Delaware but it only changed a few years ago when Pennsylvania started selling it

[jobycom]

27. Or buying cars on Sunday (Texas). Blue Laws should be unconstitutional

Not only are the an attempt to establish a religion, but the interfere with interstate commerce.

[ellisonz]

15. Injecting heroin directly into ones blood stream.

:yoiks:

:boring:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

45. you should try it!

[everythingsxen]

16. Having a pet Cassowary

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x5346259

And weed. And prostitution. And gay marriage. And pretty much everything else thats your own bidness.

[lildreamer316]

17. MDMA. n/t

[NewWaveChick1981]

19. Things consenting adults do with each other behind closed doors.

So many states have archaic laws. Homosexuality is "illegal" in quite a few states. I rarely hear of laws like that being enforced, but they are on the books and technically make it illegal.

[Guava Jelly]

20. Stalking the hot ladies of Du

I mean why are windows transparent if they don't want you to look through them.
And they all love me they just need a little CONVINCING!!!!!
:)
:silly:

[jobycom]

24. Uhhhh

I know it's a joke, but I've seen some bad things come of that around here. And worse things in the real world. It's not a joke to everyone, sadly.

[Guava Jelly]

29. I know . And yes it is a total Joke

I have a pretty crass sense of humor

[jobycom]

31. Yeah, I've seen your humor before

and have laughed heartily, so I knew it was a joke. :) Wasn't trying to come down on you. Really, I was just trying to offset your joke, for purposes of balance, not criticize it, if you see what I mean. Just a reflex to having witnessed painful stalking results.

[jobycom]

25. Atheists holding public office

It's technically illegal in many states, including Texas.

[alarimer]

36. That has to be unconstitutional

But I doubt that it has been challenged.

[jobycom]

38. Probably would be now. If I understand it properly...

at the time the Texas Constitution was adapted, the prevailing view was that the US Constitution only applied to the federal government, so states could put such legal requirements on their state offices, but that SCOTUS rulings since then have ruled that states are bound by the Bill of Rights, too. The Texas Constitution says a person must believe in a higher power to hold office, though it doesn't specify which higher power. I suspect that was an attempt to not "establish a (specific) religion," but still require one. That's another interpretation that has changed in the last century.

It's almost a moot point. No one would get elected in Texas right now claiming to be an atheist. Well, maybe here in Austin in some local elections, but not in the rest of the state. The only way I can see it becoming an issue is if a losing candidate claims the winning candidate can't take office because of previously undisclosed atheism. Even then the atheist could just declare they believed in a higher power they wouldn't define, and it would probably still satisfy the law.

It still bothers me, though. :)

[alarimer]

74. I don't understand why religion is a requirement for office

Whether it is official or unofficial, a declared atheist cannot win election. I suppose a Buddhist could not win either, in most jurisdictions anyway. It is grossly unfair that there is any sort of religious litmus test for public office. It is certainly against the principles upon which this country was founded. I thing that Americans as a rule (excepting most here at DU and in some large blue cities) are narrow-minded. Perhaps it is a function of our education system that is not geared toward teaching critical thinking skills but to turning out office or factory drones.

Religious people do not have a monopoly on ethics. Far from it. The biggest violators of ethical standards turn out to be those who profess to be deeply religious (now we could argue that they, in fact, are not following the teachings of their religion in any meaningful way and are, thusm hypocrites of the highest order). Look at how Ken Lay found Jesus just as they were about to send him away for life. I guess God decided to call him home a little early too.

[LynneSin]

28. Liquor Laws in Pennsylvania

You have to buy beer at a beer store and liquor at a state owned liquor store. It's illegal just to have a liquor store that sells it all

[Ravenseye]

61. Right on Sister

Other than a few weird places, you're absolutely right. I want to buy a case of beer in the grocery store, and 2 buck chuck at trader joes for cryin out loud. Stupid post-prohibition liquor laws.

This state is so convoluted and f'ed up some times.

[Rabrrrrrr]

30. Gay marriage; drugs; prostitution; executing people with boom cars;

and I'll agree with the moonshining; going over the speed limit on highways (there should be no speed limit, except in those places in which the roads aren't made for high speeds, such as parts of West Virginia or other winding, up-and-down roads).

[jobycom]

34. Wait

No penalty for driving 120 on the Interstate and risking the lives of everyone you pass, but some guy with a loud stereo needs to be killed? :rofl:

I agree with the rest, but not the speed limit thing. It's not that I don't want to be allowed to do 120, it's that I don't want most of the drivers I see on the highway allowed to do 120. Some short-dicked Republican compensating in his Hummer does NOT need to be allowed to run up my ass at anything over 65, IMO. Maybe if we had a separate speed limit for SUVs...

[jobycom]

32. Underage drinking in many circumstances.

I think the drinking age should be 16, if there is one at all. 21 is ridiculous (and I'm 41, so this isn't about that!). People grow up believing alcohol is some great magical rite of passage rather than simply a food choice that has to be limited in some ways. And adults can be prosecuted for giving an eighteen year old a glass of wine in many places.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

49. I'm with that one

My relatives began serving me drinks with dinner when I was 14, according to the Old Country custom.

Drinking never seemed like a rebellious act, not when the relatives of my grandmother's generation greeted me at the door with, "Would you like a beer or a high ball?"

Neither I or my brothers has ever had a drinking problem.

[flvegan]

33. Drinking alcohol from age 18-21.

Not that I'm advocating abuse, I just think that if a man/woman is old enough to enlist and old enough to vote, then having a beer should be okay, as well.

[jobycom]

35. Tie! I win!

:rofl:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

37. being topless in public for women...

sodomy

gay marriage

exstacy

marijuana

hash

[jobycom]

39. You mean like, the Black Dahlia?

:rofl:

Seriously, though, I've always thought that if ERA had been passed (and it still should be), it would over-ride topless clothing laws.

[Guava Jelly]

41. I will fight for all those rights

specially the topless one :)

[rug]

40. Smacking Bush on sight.

[SKKY]

42. Cuban Cigars in the States

...but, since I´m living in Spain for the next 3 years, I´m free to Smoke away!!!! BBBWWWAAAAAHHHHAaaa

[Lydia Leftcoast]

50. What about traveling to Cuba?

:-)

[SKKY]

51. Baby steps Lyida, baby steps. First Cuban cigars, then Cuba.

[RagingInMiami]

54. Dammit, you beat me to it

[Stardust]

72. It's not illegal to travel there -- just illegal to spend $$$

There's no law against flying there from Canada or Mexico and spending their currency. And it's quite wonderful in many respects. Try to go there while the beaches are still pristine.

[GOPisEvil]

44. You watched that, too?

:rofl:

[JackDragna]

47. All controlled substances.

Prohibition of drugs has been a total disaster. It's time to end this horrible social experiment.

[mitchum]

48. Blackmail...

it started off as a class based law (only the privileged had reputations that could be besmirched by the TRUTH)
I honestly don't understand why threatening to reveal the truth about someone is illegal. It's not as if one is making up fictions about their "victim" So what if there is a monetary demand? Every day people are extorted by their employers and the power structure in order to obtain the material necessities.

[grannylib]

55. growing your own weed for personal use

Yeah, I watched the moonshine thing on the History Channel last night.

Why don't people figure out that prohibition DOES NOT WORK????

Didn't work for alcohol; isn't working for drugs. Granted, the thought of making some stuff legal makes my blood run cold (meth, heroin, etc.) but one can't ignore the fact that prohibition is a total waste of money and resources.

[ghostsofgiants]

56. Being this good looking.

[Inspired]

57. Kicking your husband's mistress in the ass.

Sorry for the violent thought.

[mvd]

58. In some states, riding without the seat belt on

I always thought it should be a personal decision.

[grannylib]

77. I used to think that until I saw the effects of an unbelted rider on the

other passengers, as his body slammed into them within the car.
Lethal.
I will also NEVER put my grocery bags in the car again - only in the trunk! Frightening to think how much damage a loose can of tomato sauce could do to one's skull when the can is flying around your car at 65 mph (since it didn't stop moving when your car did...)

[wickerwoman]

59. Regional coding of DVDs

I understand the importance of protecting intellectual property rights, but it's frickin* absurd that I can't buy a legal DVD licensed for sale in Hong Kong and then bring it back to the States as a present. I got flagged for this the last time I went through customs when I went out of my way (and paid 3 times as much) for a non-bootleg copy.

And it really pisses me off that I had to buy a DVD player from New Zealand so that I can play DVDs from England, Germany, the U.S. and China. It's all an enormous frickin* scam to try and get me to buy multiple copies of the same movie.

Also jaywalking.

[Solon]

60. A side note, and I agree with the gist of your complaint...

But most DVD players sold in the US have a software based regional coding, it can be disabled, look on the internet for answers, usually its a combination of buttons on a remote that disables it. Very useful.

[StellaBlue]

63. Ooh! One more: protesting outside designated

Grrrrrrrr.........

[Metta]

64. Freedom, as outlined in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Legalize freedom !!!

[Dude_CalmDown]

65. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!

It's impossible not to repost unless you're the first to respond.

[begin_within]

66. Fireworks

[LeftyMom]

67. Sex toys

Not that they're illegal everyplace, but they are in more places than one would think.

[jobycom]

69. I just grow my own

Actually, they came attached at birth. I can't believe I said that. What's wrong with me!?!?!?

[Catchawave]

70. Allow 16 year olds the Vote !

I mean, if they're old enough to drive, right!?

[Porcupine]

71. Ibogaine, Ayahuasca, various mushrooms

free the neurons!!!

[Oeditpus Rex]

73. Sex threads

:evilgrin:

[XemaSab]

75. "Jacking" alcohol

by say, putting cider in the freezer and removing the hard liquor.

[SOteric]

76. Public Nudity.