Laws // Current TV

New laws ban happy hour, regulate fire-breathing

State laws taking effect as 2012 begins require girls seeking abortions in New... more

Anonmaly
added this
1 month ago
|
1 comment

BREAKING: Federal Judge Blocks Key Provisions Of South Carolina's Anti-Immigrant Law

United States District Judge Richard Mark Gergel just handed down a preliminary injunction blocking several key parts of South Carolina’s anti-immigrant law. The provisions blocked by Judge Gergel’s opinion include:

•Papers Please: The SC law makes it unlawful for immigrants to fail to carry immigration papers. This provision is now blocked under Judge Gergel’s order. Additionally, Judge Gergel’s order suspends a provision prohibiting immigrants from presenting fake immigration papers to law enforcement.
•No Rides For Undocumented Immigrants: The SC law makes it a felony punishable by up to five years in prison to “transport, move or attempt to transport” an undocumented immigrant “with intent to further that person’s unlawful entry into the United States” or to help that person avoid detection by authorities. This provision is now blocked.
•No Shelter For Undocumented Immigrants: Finally, the provision of the SC law making it a felony to “conceal, harbor or shelter” an immigrant for the same purposes forbidden under the provision prohibiting transportation is also blocked.
Judge Gergel’s opinion hews closely to longstanding precedents establishing that the federal government — and not the states — must be in charge of our nation’s immigration policy. For this reason, it is an important reaffirmation of the fact that America has one policy towards foreign nationals, just like it has one policy toward trade with China or one policy towards war with Iraq, not fifty different foreign policies for fifty different states.

Moreover, while Gergel leaves some parts of the law in effect, it is possible that more provisions of the law could be struck down at a future date. Although a challenge brought by several immigrant rights groups challenged the entire law, Gergel found that they did not have legal standing to bring such a broad challenge. Accordingly, he did not reach the merits of the question of whether the entire law is unconstitutional, and a future lawsuit could do so.
http://t.co/BvXUwRGQUnited States District Judge Richard Mark Gergel just handed down a preliminary... more

letsliveinpeace
added this
1 month ago
|
8 comments

EPA displays erectile dysfunction regarding delays on carbon limits on oil refineries as CO2 emissions climb

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, struggling with an ambitious agenda on clean... more

JanforGore
added this
3 months ago
|
32 comments

Jon Stewart's 'A Few Gay Men' (VIDEO)

“That’s how ridiculous this policy was. The apology for the affront is,... more

StewSteve
added this
5 months ago
|
0 comments

The Antiwar Comic: Blinded to the Bias

Some people choose to be blind.

TonyDiGerolamo
added this
5 months ago
|
0 comments

Drugs in Portugal: Did Decriminalization Work?

Pop quiz: Which European country has the most liberal drug laws? (Hint: It's not the Netherlands.)

Although its capital is notorious among stoners and college kids for marijuana haze–filled "coffee shops," Holland has never actually legalized cannabis — the Dutch simply don't enforce their laws against the shops. The correct answer is Portugal, which in 2001 became the first European country to officially abolish all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

At the recommendation of a national commission charged with addressing Portugal's drug problem, jail time was replaced with the offer of therapy. The argument was that the fear of prison drives addicts underground and that incarceration is more expensive than treatment — so why not give drug addicts health services instead? Under Portugal's new regime, people found guilty of possessing small amounts of drugs are sent to a panel consisting of a psychologist, social worker and legal adviser for appropriate treatment (which may be refused without criminal punishment), instead of jail.
(See the world's most influential people in the 2009 TIME 100.)

The question is, does the new policy work? At the time, critics in the poor, socially conservative and largely Catholic nation said decriminalizing drug possession would open the country to "drug tourists" and exacerbate Portugal's drug problem; the country had some of the highest levels of hard-drug use in Europe. But the recently released results of a report commissioned by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, suggest otherwise.

The paper, published by Cato in April, found that in the five years after personal possession was decriminalized, illegal drug use among teens in Portugal declined and rates of new HIV infections caused by sharing of dirty needles dropped, while the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction more than doubled.

"Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success," says Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. "It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does."

Compared to the European Union and the U.S., Portugal's drug use numbers are impressive. Following decriminalization, Portugal had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people over 15 in the E.U.: 10%. The most comparable figure in America is in people over 12: 39.8%. Proportionally, more Americans have used cocaine than Portuguese have used marijuana.

The Cato paper reports that between 2001 and 2006 in Portugal, rates of lifetime use of any illegal drug among seventh through ninth graders fell from 14.1% to 10.6%; drug use in older teens also declined. Lifetime heroin use among 16-to-18-year-olds fell from 2.5% to 1.8% (although there was a slight increase in marijuana use in that age group). New HIV infections in drug users fell by 17% between 1999 and 2003, and deaths related to heroin and similar drugs were cut by more than half. In addition, the number of people on methadone and buprenorphine treatment for drug addiction rose to 14,877 from 6,040, after decriminalization, and money saved on enforcement allowed for increased funding of drug-free treatment as well.

Portugal's case study is of some interest to lawmakers in the U.S., confronted now with the violent overflow of escalating drug gang wars in Mexico. The U.S. has long championed a hard-line drug policy, supporting only international agreements that enforce drug prohibition and imposing on its citizens some of the world's harshest penalties for drug possession and sales. Yet America has the highest rates of cocaine and marijuana use in the world

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html#ixzz1WcNUeNJUPop quiz: Which European country has the most liberal drug laws? (Hint: It's not... more

Jennifer_Guinn
added this
5 months ago
|
23 comments

Seattle Street Art in Jeopardy as Full-Time Investigator is Hired

http://www.kirotv.com/news/28481010/detail.html Wonder how much they are paying... more

ninthstate
added this
6 months ago
|
0 comments

42 Friends on line...just a neat group of like minded folks!

Support HR 2306 HR 2306: Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011 Be... more

chrisntom
added this
7 months ago
|
0 comments

'Missionaries of Hate': Vanguard Update

In 2010, Vanguard correspondent Mariana van Zeller investigated the influence of American evangelicals on proposed legislation in Uganda that might make being gay against the law -- and even possibly carry the death penalty. In this update to "Missionaries of Hate," van Zeller gives an update on the ongoing impact of the bill, which was recently reintroduced in committee but did not get voted on by the full parliament.

"Vanguard" is Current TV's no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.

For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.

Current Media, the Peabody-and Emmy Award-winning television and online network founded in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, engages viewers with smart, provocative and timely programming -stories that no one else is telling in ways that no one else is telling them. Current's programming shines a light where others won't dare and boldly explores important subjects -- opening minds, sparking conversations and forming deep connections with its viewers. The channel's audience is comprised of affluent, curious, social and connected adults who crave the kind of entertaining, enlightening, witty and informative programming found on Current's TV and online properties. Current is now available via cable and satellite TV in 75 million households worldwide - 60 million households in the US - through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107); Time Warner ; DirecTV (Channel 358 nationwide); Dish Network (Channel 196 nationwide); Verizon and AT&T. In the UK and Ireland, Current is available on BSkyB (Channel 183) and Virgin Media (Channel 155), and in Italy, Current is available on Sky Italia (Channel 130). Viewers can also find Current online at http://www.current.com.In 2010, Vanguard correspondent Mariana van Zeller investigated the influence of... more

VANGUARD
added this
9 months ago
|
0 comments

Arab Spring Comes in Western Arms

Global spending on arms in 2010 were an estimated 1.6 trillion dollars, with... more

Simba_Russeau
added this
9 months ago
|
0 comments

Smartphone Ergonomics - Safe Tips - Mobile or Smart Phone Use while Driving, Traveling on the Move

Ergonomic and Safe use of mobile or smart phones devices for recreation or work can... more

StephenWatkins
added this
10 months ago
|
0 comments

Smartphone Ergonomics - Safety Tips - Mobile or Smart Phone Use while Driving, Traveling on the Move

Ergonomic and Safe use of mobile or smart phones devices for recreation or work can... more

StephenWatkins
added this
10 months ago
|
0 comments

State of Tennessee set to pass groundbreaking bill

It has been a long journey, but at 3:30 p.m. this past Tuesday, the most influential... more

joeeddy
added this
11 months ago
|
0 comments

The roots of Americas rotting leaves

Our problems sprouted during the Civil War and have bloomed through corrupt laws and a... more

Diogenes_of_Sinope
added this
11 months ago
|
0 comments

Tester amends federal budget bill to declare wolves recovered in Montana, Idaho

"This provision would hand over responsibility for wolves to the states when... more

Luna2na
added this
11 months ago
|
0 comments

Texas Immigration Bill has BIG Exception

So they make this bill, it's tough, it will give you a $10,000 fine and 2 years... more

Avior
added this
12 months ago
|
58 comments

Spread the Word, Change the WORLD! (Watch Trailer)

We' ve had enough of Injustice and oppression! To the Current community: Without... more

lookatmypix
added this
12 months ago
|
22 comments

Laws to Prevent Your Using Electronics While Driving, Cycling, Walking

For some lawmakers, Cathy Cruz Marrero's now-infamous fall into a fountain while texting couldn't have come at a better time.
In California, State Sen. Joe Simitian has reintroduced a bill that would fine cyclists $20 for texting. In Oregon, State Rep. Michael Schaufler wants to fine cyclists $90 for wearing headphones or earbuds. In Virginia, lawmakers are considering whether to broaden such a ban to include any handheld communication device.
And in New York, a bill before the legislature's transportation committee would ban the use of electronic devices while crossing streets.
This is the second time State Sen. Carl Kruger has introduced this legislation to stem what he calls "tuning in and tuning out." As if to prove his point, a 21-year-old man listening to an iPod Nano in a crosswalk on Madison Avenue in New York last December was killed when a Mack truck backed into him and dragged him 30 feet. Presumably, the man did not hear the beeping of the truck in reverse.

The whirlwind of legislation comes at a time when pedestrian fatalities were up for the first time in four years in the first half of 2010, according to a report just released by the Governors Highway Safety Association, which also reports that pedestrian fatalities account for about 12 percent of overall traffic deaths in the United States. Meanwhile, researchers in Washington and in Illinois have been exploring the nature of distraction while walking using cell phones.
Sen. Kruger's bill calls for a ban in streets of cities with populations of a million or more people. But the Governors Highway Safety Association reports that in the three biggest states with the biggest cities (New York, California, and Texas), pedestrian fatalities actually fell. Arizona (up 21), Florida (up 36), Oklahoma (up 16), Oregon (up 18), and North Carolina (up 17) saw the largest jumps in pedestrian fatalities over the previous year.
While restricting the use of distracting devices in cars and on bicycles has become more commonplace across the States, legislation targeting pedestrians and joggers crosses a new line. (In Arkansas, a proposal to ban pedestrians from wearing headphones over both ears was met with such outrage that a legislator withdrew it altogether this week.)
Setting aside the obvious debate over whether a person should retain the basic right to walk or jog distracted, the next questions include whether this kind of ban will work to save lives, and if so, at what cost?
If the bill in New York passes, these questions will be answered in due time. Until then, expect to see a range of legal questions about the finer details of the ban, including what, exactly, constitutes a street, and a crossing of the street, and which electronic devices, if any, may be excused from said ban.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-20029623-247.html#ixzz1CBJiDG4zFor some lawmakers, Cathy Cruz Marrero's now-infamous fall into a fountain while... more

bundlebear
added this
1 year ago
|
0 comments

Missionaries of Hate

Correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to Uganda, where many question whether the... more

MarianaVanZeller
added this
1 year ago
|
164 comments

The Photoshop Law

While America still hasn’t jumped on the bandwagon, the U.K. and France are... more

AwakenedAesthetic
added this
1 year ago
|
0 comments

select your country

Community Spotlight

TAGS

tagged w/ Laws

top videos

find current on tv

find current online

recent comments

© 2012 Current TV, LLC All Rights Reserved

the basics

follow us online

tools

stay in touch

© 2012 Current TV, LLC
All Rights Reserved