New laws for the New Year

[Lisa Simpson]

Are there any interesting new laws where you live? Here are some of the new laws for California:

.50-caliber rifles: Sale of the heavy, long-range weapons, used mostly by target shooters, is banned in California. Ban supporters argued that the weapons, capable of hitting hovering helicopters, could be used by terrorists. AB 50 by Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood).

I'm surprised the Governator signed this one.

Declawing cats: It is a misdemeanor punishable by a $10,000 fine to declaw exotic cats such as cougars, bobcats, lions and tigers. AB 1857 by Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood).


Force-fed birds: A ban on the force-feeding of ducks and geese to enlarge their livers to make foie gras takes effect in July 2012. SB 1520 by Sen. John Burton (D-San Francisco).

Spyware: It is illegal to intentionally install computer software known as spyware, which can collect personal information, disable anti-virus shields and otherwise disrupt a computer's function. Though the law prescribes no punishment for violators, private citizens can sue for actual damages. SB 1436 by Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Culver City).

Vaccines: As of July 1, 2006, it is illegal to give pregnant women and children under 3 vaccines containing more than a certain amount of mercury, which has been linked to developmental disorders. AB 2943 by Assemblywoman Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills).

Politics and psuedoscience. Neat!

 

[Mr Manifesto]

I realise I'm betraying my ignorance here, but isn't mercury kind of bad for you? And were the links between "high" mercury vaccines and developmental disorders credible?

 

[Lisa Simpson]

From quackwatch.org

However, there are several reasons why concerns about the use of thimerosal in vaccines are misguided:

* The amounts of mercury involved were very small.
* No link between mercury and autism has been proven.
* There is no logical reason to believe that autism has a toxic cause.

and

By mid-2000, thimerosal-free vaccines against hepatitis B and bacterial meningitis were widely available. A combination vaccine for diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus is also available today without thimerosal. Measles/mumps/rubella (MMR), chickenpox, inactivated polio, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have never contained thimerosal. Thus, except for some influenza vaccine, none of the vaccines now used to protect preschool children against 12 infectious diseases contain thimerosal as a preservative. Certain flu vaccines and tetanus-diphtheria vaccines (Td) given to children age 7 and older still contain thimerosal as a preservative.

 

[Mr Manifesto]

OK. Thanks for that.

 

[Brown]

New laws for Minnesota can be found here. Among the highlights:

1. SUVs Mandatory. By 2007, all Minnesotans will be required to drive an SUV. About one-half of them currently drive SUVs voluntarily, but voluntary efforts have produced a leveling off, so governmental intervention was in order. SUVs are important for towing boats, hauling ice fishing houses, driving in the snow, and chaffeuring children, all of these important Minnesota activites. Besides, lawmakers got tired of listening to owners of sedans complaining about how SUVs block their vision, take up too much parking space, and generally cause drivers to behave like idiots. The law also allows citizens to drive (in lieu of an SUV) a four-wheel drive minivan, pickup or RV.

2. New Stadiums. Each of the following teams shall be entitled to a new stadium to the exclusion of the other teams: The Minnesota Twins, the Minnesota Vikings, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, and the Saint Paul Saints. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome will be dedicated to frisbee tournaments and monster truck shows.

3. Turn Signal Penalties. The use of a turn signal to indicate one's intention is now a class "C" felony. Previously, use of a turn signal to indicate one's intention was a misdemeanor. The offense was made a class "C" felony as a compromise among groups that wanted to encourage use of the devices (purportedly for reasons of "safety") and factions that felt the offense deserves the death penalty. Drivers are still entitled to use the signals to indicate present activity (i.e., turning them on during a maneuver to indicate "I AM turning" or "I AM changing lanes"), and also to indicate past success ("I just made a left turn").

4. Panhandling Civil Penalties. Those accosted by panhandlers are entitled to kick the panhandlers in the seat of the pants. An exception is made for panhandlers in wheelchairs, who may be spat upon.

5. Street Naming Moratorium. Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, and also the land of 25,000 "Lake Streets," "Lake Roads," "Lake Avenues" and the like. Approximately one-third of the population lives within a snowball's throw of a roadway with the word "Lake" in its name. Unimaginative developers and planners are no longer permitted to use this word when naming public roadways.

6. Al Franken Officially Funny. Minnesota-bred Al Franken has been officially declared to be "Funny," but said declaration will lapse if Franken runs for public office.

 

[Luke T.]

Are there any interesting new laws where you live? Here are some of the new laws for California:

.50-caliber rifles: Sale of the heavy, long-range weapons, used mostly by target shooters, is banned in California. Ban supporters argued that the weapons, capable of hitting hovering helicopters, could be used by terrorists. AB 50 by Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood).

So is it still legal to buy a 50 cal?

Spyware: It is illegal to intentionally install computer software known as spyware, which can collect personal information, disable anti-virus shields and otherwise disrupt a computer's function. Though the law prescribes no punishment for violators, private citizens can sue for actual damages. SB 1436 by Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Culver City).

What if a Californian visits a web site based in Oklahoma and the site installs spyware, the Californian can't really do anything about it, right? This law only works for CA vs. CA cases, yes?

 

[Art Vandelay]

Re: Re: New laws for the New Year

So is it still legal to buy a 50 cal?

Probably not. Paying someone to perform an illegal act is usually itself illegal.

 

[Luke T.]

Re: Re: Re: New laws for the New Year

Probably not. Paying someone to perform an illegal act is usually itself illegal.

What if a Californian bought a .50 cal out of state?

 

[Lisa Simpson]

I hunted down the actual law:

12280. (a) (1) Any person who, within this state, manufactures or causes to be manufactured, distributes, transports, or imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives or lends any assault weapon or any .50 BMG rifle, except as provided by this chapter, is guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for four, six, or eight years.

[snipped boring legal mumbo-jumbo]

Any person who, within this state, possesses any assault
weapon, except as provided in this chapter, is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison. However, a first violation of these provisions is punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), if the person was found in possession of no more than two firearms in compliance with subdivision (c) of Section 12285 and
the person meets all of the following conditions:
(1) The person proves that he or she lawfully possessed the assault weapon prior to the date it was defined an assault weapon pursuant to Section 12276, 12276.1, or 12276.5.

I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, but near as I can figure out, you cannot go to another state and buy a .50 BMG rifle, since it specifically says you had to have lawfully possessed it before the date it was defined as an assault rifle. And the weapons you do have must be registered with the state DOJ. And the law doesn't apply to cops and other law enforcement type people.