Voltare
Posts: 841
Joined: 1/1/2004 From: Santiago, Chile Status: offline
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Aine - some pinball machines double as gambling devices i.e. you can win money from them. That'd be why you need to be over 18 to play them. The issue about laws against activities, such as sodomy (for example) are examples of what you could call 'rider' crimes. Basically, they're often crimes that get tacked onto other crimes to make the ultimate punishment worse. An example is if I shoot a man on a city street with a stolen assault rifle on the street, not only am I guilty of murder, but also felony possesion of a fire arm, possession of a fire arm without a permit, possession of stolen goods, discharging a weapon in public, disturbing the peace, and felony assault. The difference can be between15 years to life and 40 years to life. Also, an arrest for a lesser crime (like sodomy) can give the police legal cause to execute a search warrent, blood testing, fingerprinting, DNA testing, detention, and other legal procedures that would otherwise be impossible without sufficient evidence. It's not the polices' job to decide what the law is; it's their job to enforce it. How they do it might not seem fair or agreeable, but as citizens, if we don't like our laws, we have plenty of resources availible to get it changed.
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http://www.vv3b.com/ "There is always some madness in love, but there is always some reason in madness." - F. Nietzsche
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