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> “once untrustworthy, always restricted”

That's even worse than California's three strikes laws.



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> As for three strikes, drug possession was one of the top offenses for which it is applied.

But fundamentally the three strikes rule is a bigger issue there than the drug possession charges themselves, the three strikes remove all judicial flexibility and agency.


> Anyway, in the US, three strike laws only apply to criminal charges and not civil ones.

And not even to all criminal charges. Three strike laws usually apply only to felonies.


> If you don't expect and accept your local variation of whatever these exceptions are you are going to have a very bad time.

As it turns out I do expect this behavior and still have a very bad time. These laws are not frivolous, and violating them is extremely dangerous.


>but rather protecting second chances.

And third, and fourth, and fifth, and as many times as you can afford to make a legal hassle for someone, chances.

The world isn't always super convenient, and extremely onerous legislation like this definitely won't help.


> if I violate certain laws

Trouble is that police, prosecutors, and even judges and juries can famously get that wrong. So I find this caveat not to be especially reassuring.


> When laws are bad, people should thumb their nose at them

Sure. But use some intelligence and risk management when you're doing it.

This was just outright stupidity, and there's no excuse for it. :( :( :(


> Setting the limit stricter than the actual desired behavior can push average behavior closer to the target

I hate this so much. Selective enforcement only serves to enable overzealous enforcement against unpopular and disenfranchised groups.

One does one small thing wrong and they can then tack a large handful of other charges that would never otherwise be enforced. It's disgusting.

Make the rules things that should actually be rules. Enforce them as written. The end.


> Laws are laws.

This is horrible reasoning.


>> This law is really terrible

Why?


> you have to follow them whether or not you personally think that breaking them "isn't so terrible" or not.

That's plain incorrect, many people manage to do things that the state considers illegal.


> Is this even legal?

Legal or not, it's a huge red flag.


> the state can't mandate helpful behavior

The state requires me to wear underwear on the bus, put kids in car seats, signal at intersections, keep a gun safely, not let my tires go bald, and many other things to protect people around me.


> If you're in America, you're fucked. One mistake and your marked for life. Be that legal issues, work history, etc. We'll hold that shit against you until you die.

Puritanical standards like this seem limited to the east/midwest; the west coast is much more forgiving (IME).


> This is a law.

> No, it is not.

> That's a pretty uncharitable interpretation.


> Anything else is a violation of the law.

Oh no! Good luck enforcing that, it's worked out stellar so far.


> It is ridiculous how lenient the laws are.

I think it is because people who make the laws are breaking them too.


>If you cannot conduct yourself in a law-abiding manner as a LEO, you deserve to go to jail.

And you deserve to go to jail for longer than a regular citizen should if you do it in the performance of your job. I never agreed to follow any laws, let alone enforce them -- they did.


> the 400 ft rule is totally arbitrary, and enforcing it relies entirely on the word of the police

I mean, any distance is going to be arbitrary. And “people might lie” is a bad reason to reject a rule. (It’s a good reason to raise the burden of evidence.)


>Especially when even for the government, those rules don't apply outside of the criminal sphere.

Which is a travesty seeing as how many various organizations within government can unilaterally take action that will f-up one's life as bad as a nonviolent misdemeanor.

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