Legal in the US, But Illegal Elsewhere
America is the freest, most freedom, full country in the entire world, despite what some hack YouTube lawyer says. And for those traveling internationally for the first time, you may be surprised to learn that many American rights, freedoms and values are not universally held abroad. In fact, one country’s liberty can be another country’s crime.
But in fact, we Americans are so constantly surrounded by so much freedom that we often just take it for granted. Like David Foster Wallace’s metaphor, one fish asks another, how’s the water today? And the other fish shoots him with an AR 15. And if you’ve spent your entire life in the land of the free and home of the brave, it can be easy to overlook the other countries that are in fact, not America.
There are tons of rights and activities that are perfectly legal in the United States, but could land you in some hot water if you tried it in another country,
Mullet hairstyle,
The Mullet, that iconic hairstyle of 1980s actors, rock stars and athletes, really has no business continuing to exist in the 21st century, and yet inexplicably it still does. But this is America, damn it, where you don’t have to fight for your right to party in the back and business in the front. But if you want to cosplay as Joe Dirt or compete in the USA Mullet Championships, yes, that is a very real thing that people do, then it is your right as an American to look like an idiot. In fact, that might be the most fundamental American right that there is.
But for certain freedom-hating countries trying to save you from yourselves, the mullet and other crimes of fashion constitute a criminal offense. For example, in 2010, Iran’s Ministry of Culture officially said goodbye to mullets, banning the hairstyle for being niladic. In an effort to rid the country of so-called decadent western haircuts, Iran launched a crackdown on mullets, elaborate spikes and long hair because nothing says decadence like the mullet.
Now, in years leading up to the ban, police have actually raided barbershops that offer these disfavored hairstyles. After the ban, violators have been subject to fines and impromptu haircuts by the police for violating these standards. Government officials have even gone to hairdressing trade shows to outline what haircuts are legal.
Also, in 2021, North Korea launched its own war against mullets and other foreign styles in an effort to crack down on so-called non socialist hairdos. The rogue communist country outlawed mullets and spiky dyed hair, while also enlisting the state run Socialist Patriotic Youth League to act as literal fashion police against the banned cut nose and lip piercings, skinny jeans and branded t-shirts were also outlawed.
And though this is hardly the worst human rights violation of this repressive regime, it seems like Kim Jong UN is in no place to prosecute anyone for ridiculous haircuts. And it’s not just hairstyles that don’t make the cut pun 100% intended.
Beards
In the nation of Tajikistan, the secular government has waged a war on beards in an effort to crack down on what it sees as the influence of Islamic radicalism. In the country, only clean shaven men can get passports, and beards are often forcibly shaved off by police officers. So if you’re a hersweet hipster looking to open up that barber shop just for that ironic beard and mustache, you’ll have to look outside of Tajikistan. But obviously, you’ve already set up shop in Williamsburg anyway.
Spanking
But just because it’s legal to get a really terrible haircut in the United States doesn’t mean that you won’t be subject to a good spanking unless you’re outside of the United States. Because when it comes to raising children, there is a fierce debate as to whether parents should spank their kids.
Some parents live by the edge, use your words, not your hands, while other parents, particularly those influenced by older generations, live by the biblically inspired aphorism, spare the rod, spoil the child. But as a strictly legal matter, here in the grand old US. Of a, the right to spank your kids shall not be infringed. In fact, the use of corporal punishment on one’s own children, defined as spanking, paddling, or other forms of physical punishment to correct misbehavior, is protected by law in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
Now, for those of us whose parents spanked us as kids, that probably doesn’t surprise you. What might surprise you in most of the United States is that it remains perfectly legal for teachers to paddle children in school. And not just in Springfield elementary school. In fact, in 1977, the supreme court upheld the constitutionality of school spankings. In Ingram versus Wright, the court ruled five four that paddling children in public schools did not violate the 8th amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. As a result, the supreme court left it up to the states to decide whether to allow spanking in educational settings or to ban it And today, 19 us. States still allow public school personnel to use corporal punishment from preschool to the 12th grade.
And for private schools, corporal punishment remains legal in every US. States except New Jersey and Iowa. But outside the United States, there has been a clear trend not merely to dissuade parents from spanking children, but to actually make the practice illegal. In 1979, Sweden became the first country to explicitly ban spanking. This was wildly controversial at the time, sparking contentious debate about parental rights versus state responsibilities.
And some Swedish headlines at the time included, quote, swedes have gone mad, and the government takes charge of parenting in Sweden. But over the past four decades, the trend against spanking has been on the rise all over the world. In fact, according to the American spanking institute, in conjunction with mothers for hand smacking, I’m just kidding. I made both of those just up. You’ve got to stay on your toes. No, I mean according to the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, a total of 63 countries have made smacking children illegal in any setting, including at home. And countries on this list spanned five continents.
And in 2022, Wales became the latest country to ban the practice. And the bans are even more numerous in school settings, with corporal punishment in schools now outlawed in 135 countries. Decades after Sweden’s ban, anti spanking advocates can point to hard data that suggests a direct correlation between spanking bans and better adjusted children. But that being said, the prospect of actually prohibiting spanking at home remains unlikely in the United States, as many consider such a ban to be an oppressive intrusion by the state into parental rights.
And even in the 21st century, spanking in the US. Has its share of high profile defenders, particularly on the conservative side of the aisle. In 2014, Fox News commentator Sean Hannity famously defended parents’ rights to spank their children, citing his own upbringing by beating the desk with a belt to a confused panel. Now, notwithstanding the views of the obviously well adjusted commentator who clearly turned out fine, spanking has seen a notable decline. In the US.
The proportion of parents who utilize the practice has dropped from 50% in 1993 to only 35% in 2017. But look, if you want your children to turn out like Sean Hannity, then maybe start with some spankings.
Cannabis
But that takes us to a topic that almost everyone agrees on, and that is cannabis. Because in a nation that seems increasingly divided on almost every single issue, one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement is the embrace of legal marijuana.
Now, although cannabis remains illegal under federal law, the feds have allowed states to experiment with their own loosened restrictions because well, I’ll let John Mulaney explain that one With that being said, Customs and Border Patrol works tirelessly to prevent drugs from entering this country, like the time that they celebrated the introduction of this massive haul of drugs from entering American shores. But as of 2022, recreational marijuana is currently legal in 18 states DC. And Guam. 31 states plus DC. Have decriminalized low level offenses, and a whopping 37 states allow it for medical use, with public support for full legalization standing at a record 68% Americans certainly have come a long way since the days of reefer madness.
But try to take that wacky tobacco outside of our borders, and you could find yourself in severe legal jeopardy. In fact, in a handful of countries, possession of cannabis could have you staring down a hangman’s noose. And this disparate legal treatment of cannabis abroad was recently put on display following a high profile detention in Putin’s, Russia.
In February 2022, US women’s basketball superstar Brittany Griner was arrested after customs authorities claimed to have found cannabis vape oil cartridges in her carryon bag. But given that Griner’s arrest came days before Russia invaded Ukraine, some have speculated that the Kremlin arrested Miss Greiner to pressure the US and others to not stand in the way of Putin’s invasion.
To that point. Russia has been known to falsify drug charges against critics in the past, so it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that the same happened here. I guess she should just consider herself lucky that she wasn’t poisoned with a radioactive substance.
But while a few dozen countries have relaxed restrictions on the plant, the recreational medical use of cannabis remains very illegal in the vast majority of nations. For example, in 2021, 24 year old British soccer coach Billy Hood was arrested in the United Arab Emirates with four bottles of CBD vape oil in his car. Local authorities charged Mr. Hood with drug trafficking and then sentenced him to 25 years in a Dubai prison. Mr. Hood’s sentence was then reduced to ten years on appeal, but he remains incarcerated. In 2013, Egypt executed Charles Raymond Ferndale, a 74 year old British citizen, for allegedly smuggling three tons of hashish, which Ferndale insisted until his death that he had been tricked into doing by third parties.
In 2021, Singapore sentenced Omar Yakub Bamadhaj to death for bringing at least two pounds of cannabis into the country in 2018. And like Ferndale, his lawyers also argued he did not knowingly bring drugs into the country, though. Despite America’s comparatively looser pot restrictions, America still has over 40,000 people in jail for marijuana offenses, something that absolutely requires fixing.
And even with these disparities, at the very least, though, taking up the United States will not result in the death sentence.
The right to not vote
But that’s something that you can change in America, because you have the right to vote.
But you also have the right to not vote if you don’t want to. Because while millions of Americans stand up every election day to have their voices heard, millions of Americans also choose to sit down, stay home, and deliberately not vote at all.
If I were registered to vote, I’d send these clowns a message by staying home on election day and dressing up like a clown. Now, it might seem obvious to say that you have the right not to participate in American elections, but it might surprise you to learn that staying home on Election Day is actually illegal in over two dozen countries.
That’s right. In 27 countries, all eligible citizens are required by law to register and vote in every single election, though several countries, like Chile, Italy and the Dominican Republic that previously adopted mandatory voting have since abandoned the practice. A handful of countries with compulsory voting don’t actually enforce any penalty for failure to vote, like Bulgaria, Costa Rica and Mexico, but over a dozen countries enforce a penalty for failing to vote in elections. Some countries penalize nonvoters with outright disenfranchisement.
In Singapore, a voter that misses an election is removed from voting rolls and must re-register and submit a valid reason for not voting. Other countries issue fines and can even result in jail time. Brazil requires all eligible citizens, excluding the illiterate voters aged 16 and 17 and those aged 70, to vote or be subject to a fine of less than $1. In Australia, citizens are legally required to go to their polling place but can choose to decline to participate after signing in.
However, failure to show up at the polling place at all can subject Aussies to a fine of 100 didgery dues, probably, or the equivalent of $14 to $34. And citizens who repeatedly refuse to pay the small fine can actually go to jail. Among countries with compulsory voting laws, there are those that tie voting directly to your pocketbook. For example, in Peru, a voter must have a stamped voting card to obtain certain services and goods from some public offices. And in Bolivia, a voter is given a card to prove participation. And a citizen who cannot show proof of voting within three months after the election will be ineligible to receive a salary from the bank.
Advocates for this compulsory system, liken the democratic participation, to civil responsibilities like taxation, jury duty and military service, and argue that participating in democracy is a duty instead of a right. Others argue that forcing people to vote compels higher voter turnout, as Australia rarely falls below 90% participation, while Brazil’s most recent presidential election was just below 80%. And compare that to the United States, where voter turnout struggles to crack 50% in a midterm election and only occasionally breaks 60% in presidential contests.
However, the idea of forcing people to vote and punishing them for nonparticipation is not a popular concept among nations with voluntary suffrage. Critics see voting as a civic right rather than a duty, and contend that forcing someone to vote is counter to the very idea of liberty and free choice.
And some American legal scholars contend that mandatory voting laws would constitute compelled speech that violates the First Amendment, as the right to speak necessarily involves the freedom not to speak. So as long as you live in the United States, you can rest assured of your constitutional right to say none of the above.
Source: LegalEagle