Opinion on laws

   In most societies, the 18th birthday is celebrated with great style as it marks the person’s transition to being regarded as an adult. To the 18 year old, it is much more exciting because it means  more freedom. In most countries, it is the age at which full rights are established under law. It is considered the age when people are supposed to be aware of their actions and are in thorough control of their mind. They are able to make decisions for themselves and are therefore, regarded as adults who are able to enjoy the rights of making decisions for themselves which helps define them as a person under law.

   I agree with the marriage and cell phone laws.  However, the law that I disagree with the most is the law that places curfew and restrictions on the daily routines of every young adult. Although, the effort made by the government to reduce juvenile crime rates is recognized, it proves to be unnecessary as this law has neither changed nor brought about a decrease in the crime rates. This restriction forces teenagers to do anything in their power to act against the law. They are allowed to leave their homes after curfew times only when they are in the presence of adults, but some adults even render to be irresponsible, especially adults who are suddenly deemed adults as soon as they turn 18. The government puts in a lot of work and effort into these laws by making important decisions on where to place curfews and at what times and to what age group. The ease with which teenagers dodge these laws makes it ineffective. It has been proven in many states that the law is useless because the same numbers of crimes take place during the non- curfew times as it does in the curfew set times as well. 

 

     Moreover, since states differ in their age limit for different restrictions, the definition of a person remains unclear. In some states, an individual is considered a minor while in the other states the “minor” enjoys rights regarding the same law. This statement applies for the laws regarding early marriage and curfew. But I believe that with age comes maturity and it is the basis that all the laws lie on. With more life experiences to share and more difficulties being experienced, the individual subconsciously develops a sense of maturity that enables them to make right decisions. These laws based on age portray how the society agrees that maturity grows along with age proportionally. The laws just exist to protect minors until they reach the adult stage.  In the case of all the laws that I picked, these restrictions based on age, limits freedom and rights for individuals below the age of 18. Therefore, they begin to lose their position as people under law, since freedom and rights are being stripped away from them. Since minors do not enjoy much freedom as in the case of the adults in the society, they move further away from being defined as a person until they reach the age of maturity as well.

Too young to get married?

Almost everyone at a certain point in their life contemplates the idea of marriage. Many picture themselves in wedding attire and eagerly await their chance to experience the magical moment, while an equal amount of people are also not very fond of the idea of commitment. But do you ever wonder if the younger generation frolics in these thoughts as well? Recently, talk shows have been mentioning several instances when teenagers have expressed the wish to get married. Their admiration for the traditional life style steers their dedication towards the idea of commitment based on love, cooperation and commitment, which are ideas that many people believe the young are still yet to understand. As a result, the government of Georgia enforced a law that places restrictions on young couples below the age of 18 to get married. The law serves to help minors concentrate on their personal development, until their reach the ripe age of 18. Many would agree that these big decisions are made too early. Through analyzing the effect of early marriage, governments also consider the protection of young children from statutory rape as well. In Georgia, the law permits parental permission to be the sole decision required in allowing the marriage to take place for individuals who are either 16 or 17. Georgia requires that the individuals reach an age of 18 before they can get married without parental consent. One may classify it as stereotypical thought, when adults believe that teenagers are often still trying to discover themselves and their interests and therefore, they can rarely ever be sure about complicated ideas such as marriage. Secondly, many adults realize that the younger generation still has their whole lives to pave out by attending school and college and a marriage would be a hindrance. Therefore, with marriage comes great responsibility and maturity which young people are in the process of developing. The law ensures the protection of the minors from the possible trials and tribulations of marriage and portrays the idea that maturity comes with age.

 This video demonstrates an adult’s view on teen marriage. It is this view that is increasingly supported by many members of the society as well. 


 This article mentions the steady rise in teenage marriage in the US since the 1990's. 

The argument that Martha Nussbaum makes in Sex and Social Justice reveals her thoughts on early marriage as well. Nussbaum expressed her opinion by mentioning that at a young age decisions can fluctuate rapidly and therefore, young couples may begin to regret their decision once they realize that they haven’t gotten a chance to experience their childhood  they way it is meant to be. Young girls who get married extremely early jeopardize their education and reputation and they have not yet developed the factors that help them make a good decision. Therefore, it could be foreseen that by choosing to marry early, young girls can get stuck in an impression that marriage is difficult and could begin to regret their decision while in all truthfulness, they did not get to experience the real feelings of affection, cooperation and maturity that he marital bond made at the right time has.

References:
1. "Notebook: Teen Marriage - CBS News Video." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2245614n>.
2. Teenage Marriage On The Rise - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/08/national/main528755.shtml>.

Bed time?-- Curfew law

 

Have you ever considered following a curfew that isn't set by your parents? A curfew that restricts you from visiting certain places past certain times just because you fall under the set age limits? Sounds a little bizarre, doesn’t  it? You are referred to as a juvenile in constitutional terms and your age prevents you from venturing out past certain times. Why? The answer is simple yet thought provoking. The government places curfews on teenagers in order to reduce the effects of juvenile crime rates in the area. Many states in the US have now begun to imply this law to restrict the teenagers in their society, therefore ensuring a safe and cultured environment to the rest of the inhabitants. In Georgia especially, this law is updated constantly by the Judicial Branch of Georgia and the law ensures that if a minor is out after 12am on a weekend and 11 pm on a weekday, they face the accusation of violating the curfew law and therefore, they can be penalized. Vandalism, theft, cheating and speed driving are a few of the actions conducted by teenagers that have placed them under the watch of the adults in the society.  

The curfew law in Philadelphia

   By placing such curfews on teenagers, they are confined within their own homes after curfew which does not permit them to possibly break the laws of society. Adults believe that the adolescent years carry with it feelings of anxiety, nervousness, changing hormones and self discovery. As minors try to find their own identity and are in the process of self discovery, they also cope with the changes that they go through physically and mentally. Therefore, they find themselves in many pit holes as they express their bottled up emotions through accidentally harming the society in some way or the other. They are often not old enough to fully understand the meaning of conforming to the rules of society. But many questions still remain unanswered. Doesn’t this law take away what young people consider social life? Doesn’t it prove to be unfair for minors who actually do conform to the rules of society? Many believe that this law prevents teenagers from experiencing the real world in its true colors. The law also restricts teenagers from engaging in activities that they rely on for entertainment such as late night movies and parties. This strips away from them most of the experience of being a teenager and doesn’t allow them to experience the reality and life of being a part of that age group. Lastly, according to statistics “For every violent or sexual crime committed by a juvenile, there are three such crimes committed by adults against juveniles” Referring to this idea, it proves that age is simply a number and rarely determines a person’s behavior in society. 

A strike against the curfew laws

For these reasons, this law can be viewed as highly discriminatory by the minors in the society. This law makes the definition of a person cloudy because if adults are known to commit more crimes than juveniles, then why is it that the minors in the society are the ones who have to endure curfew times? Therefore, many people who are affected by this law have been speaking up against this law. This reminds me of certain heroes that we have analyzed in class who were not afraid to speak up and defend what they believe should be granted to them. In the movie Iron Jawed Angels and  The vindication of the Rights of Men, women like Alice Paul and Wollstonecraft respectively, sacrificed for rights to be granted to everyone and I see this strong correlation and similarity with the young people who are fighting against this curfew law as well, as they strive to push the law over since it has been proved to be ineffective in reducing juvenile crime rates.

 This video portrays the opinions of teenagers on this curfew law that has been set in their state of California.

     

References:

1. "Georgia Juvenile Crime Lawyers - Atlanta Juvenile Violent Crime Attorneys." Atlanta Criminal Defense Lawyers - Georgia DUI Defense Attorneys. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.criminaldefensepros.com/Criminal-Defense/Juvenile-Crimes.aspx>.

2.  "Curfew Laws | Analysis and Argument | Pro-Youth Pages." The Pro-Youth Pages | Challenging Prejudice against Youth. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.proyouthpages.com/curfew.html>.
 3."YouTube - A Teen Curfew Controversy." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrBgPoxgy1Q&feature=fvw>.

No cell phones while driving!

 

Returning to boarding school in Switzerland after a much needed break, I was eager to meet up with all my friends again. I expected them to rush out and embrace me with laughter and cheer. But, what I experienced was the complete opposite. It was evident in their grim expressions and blood shot eyes that they had been crying. Finally, when someone told me what happened, emotions flared up inside me. I was told that a close friend of mine had been a victim of a fatal car accident. He was reported to have been driving in the middle of night while talking to his father on the cell phone informing him that he would be home in just a while and at the same time his car collided with a truck coming in the opposite direction. Awakened by this incident, his father petitioned to pass a law in his home country that prohibited the use of cell phones while on the road. This incident made me realize how harmful the effects of cell phones can be on anyone and not just teenagers.

This bar graph demonstrates the  different distractions that can cause a driver to miss a signal

As of January 2006, twenty states in the United States passed a law that prohibited the use of cell phones while driving. But there was a twist to this new law. The new requirement concerned only a certain group of the society. It took into the account the minimum age of 18 at which cell phones are permitted while driving without a law breaking offense. The law has been enforced strictly as many agree that distractions cause the greatest number of highway crashes among teenagers. This statement is supported by the graph  as well, which portrays that the use of cell phones while driving has caused the greatest number of highly fatal accidents among juveniles. The law permits citizens over the age 18 to use cell phones while driving but with a hand-free device hooked onto their car. As a follow up, many adults in the society concur that since underage members of the society are still new to driving and would have just recently exposed to the possible dangers of the road, distractions like cell phones would prove to be too overwhelming, since full concentration would be required on the road. Secondly, it is evident in today’s technologically innovative world that teenagers tend to be engrossed and fully distracted by the effect of rapidly growing technology.  Therefore, it could potentially cause great harm and disaster if cell phones were to be used while driving especially by the younger members of the society. 

 

The law assumes that the people, who are not affected by this law due to their age are used to driving, have more control over their distractions and are mature enough to make decisions quickly. “The simple fact is that teenage drivers are more easily distracted. They are young, inexperienced and have a slower reaction time,” was a statement that Schwarzenegger made as he signed the legislation. “We want to eliminate any extra distractions so they can focus on paying attention to the road and being good drivers.” Therefore, the high majority of people do agree that cell phones indeed have a dire consequence in the lives of the juveniles and the people around them, and therefore this law acts in order to protect the lives of the underage members of society until they reach a mature age at which they are capable of driving after having been on the road for a considerable period of time.

This law clearly defines the person under law. People who have reached the age of 18 and over are considered the responsible, mature and road conscious members of society and are therefore viewed as a person under law. Therefore, the law differentiates the society into two groups with one group attaining the profile of becoming a person under law as he experiences freedom and is not restricted from using cell phones while driving. 

References: 

1.Means, By All. "California Hands-free Cell Phone Driving Law Effective July 1, 2008." Bluetooth Headset Reviews and Wireless News from Gammoth. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://blog.gammoth.com/news/california-get-ready-hands-free-cell-phone-law-effective-july-1-2008>.