Another School Shooting

[wufan]

Distilling whiskey for personal consumption is illegal whereas using the exact same dangerous techniques and equipment to distill bio-fuel and essential oils is not.

[Kung Wu]

“May/can lead to”…

proliferation of guns may lead to death. Is a “may lead to” standard something you want upheld? Maybe you do, but I do not.

The vast majority of our laws have that (often frustrating) aspect.

Why can't we all just go buy pain killers from a gas station?
Why can't we drive without licenses?
Why can't you use certain chemicals on your own lawn?
Why can't we all be doctors without licenses?
Why can't we burn trash on certain days?

Most violent-crime and property laws don't hinge on "may/can" .. murder, vandalism, etc. But I'd say the majority of laws do.

[ShockerFever]

Slippery slope isn’t even the worst thing that comes to mind by ridding the world of “victimless” laws. Sure there are dumb laws out there but some of things you two are mentioning would create absolute chaos.

[wufan]

The vast majority of our laws have that (often frustrating) aspect.

Why can't we all just go buy pain killers from a gas station?
Why can't we drive without licenses?
Why can't you use certain chemicals on your own lawn?
Why can't we all be doctors without licenses?
Why can't we burn trash on certain days?

Most violent-crime and property laws don't hinge on "may/can" .. murder, vandalism, etc. But I'd say the majority of laws do.

And I think that’s a problem. Why shouldn’t you be able to buy codine over the counter?

[wufan]

Slippery slope isn’t even the worst thing that comes to mind by ridding the world of “victimless” laws. Sure there are dumb laws out there but some of things you two are mentioning would create absolute chaos.

Like what?

[Kung Wu]

And I think that’s a problem. Why shouldn’t you be able to buy codine over the counter?

I somewhat agree with this. I think some substances should be controlled to some extent, but by and large most pain meds and antibiotics should not be.

[SHOCKvalue]

Gambling isn't always a crime. But a key reason it is, is because gamblers are unknowingly cheated out of (sometimes very large amounts of) money.

Distilling whiskey circumvents oversight and can lead to serious injury and illness.

Stylists that have invested lots of money in education and safety lose recovery revenue when non-licensed stylists work under the table as a profession.

Some of those arguments are varying degrees of crappy, but they aren't nothing either.

Gambling is legal when it produces tax revenue for the government. It is illegal when it is working outside of such, and not adding to the coffers of the government. It is cheating morons out of their dollars either way.

The rationale is basically identical for production of moonshine.

Licensure raises barriers to entry to fields that in some cases really shouldn't require such due to the simplicity of the skill or service.

That's pretty much the extent of the complexities there.