Questions tagged [law]
Use this tag for claims about the law. This must be almost always be accompanied by a country tag, such as [united-states] to clarify which country's laws the claim is about.
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Is gun control effective?
I have seen numerous arguments about gun control, in the sense of laws restricting gun ownership or possession, and whether widespread gun possession affects crime rates, and each side is happy to ...
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Does torture work well as an interrogation technique?
Wikipedia's Effectiveness of torture for interrogation says,
Torture has been used throughout history for the purpose of obtaining information in interrogation. Some arguments say that it is an ...
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Is it illegal to refuse US currency for a purchase?
I hear this claim every now and then. That US currency is legal tender and that it is illegal to not accept it.
The most recent example of this was on an old episode of 30 Rock: The head and the hair....
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Does legalizing prostitution lead to an increase in human trafficking?
This is a common argument against the legalization of prostitution, and I'm curious if there's any truth to the claim that human trafficking actually increase when prostitution is made legal.
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Is Islam banned in Japan?
I noticed some people posting and reposting bold statements online that Japan is (the only) country that banned Islam. I searched a bit and found out that there are some mosques and Muslim societies ...
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Does the establishment of a legal upper speed limit on highways lead to a reduction in traffic deaths and accidents?
The conventional wisdom is that established speed limits lead to an increase in safety.
Speed limits are usually set to attempt to cap road traffic speed; there are several reasons for wanting to do ...
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Is the trending Facebook "privacy notice" necessary and/or effective?
This facebook post has gone viral among my friends
PRIVACY NOTICE: Warning - any person and/or institution and/or Agent
and/or Agency of any governmental structure including but not limited
to ...
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Have local/state common law courts been replaced with federal martial/maritime courts in the US?
A colleague recently shared An Open Letter to Sheriff Ward of Harney County Oregon - and to All County Sheriffs in America from Judge Anna
This letter makes a number of claims, among which:
Common ...
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Are there vaccine ingredients which may not be disclosed ("hidden", "trade secret", or similar)?
I sometimes encounter people claiming that there are ingredients in vaccines that can be kept secret by the manufacturer. I would be surprised to hear this, because the manufacturers have to conduct ...
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Is the death penalty an effective deterrent?
There is a lot of clutter from anti-death penalty sites, which makes it hard to find all the research. They often cite statistics like those explained in this website, including the chart below that ...
Dogmafrog
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Do laws exist that say restaurants must serve customers who request tap water?
My mother claimed the other day that it is a "state law" that any restaurant must serve customers tap water upon request, therefore not requiring customers to buy a (flavored) drink or (overpriced) ...
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Are US workers legally required to pay income taxes?
In the 2006 film America: Freedom to Fascism, several interviews are shown which claim that American workers do not need to pay income tax. Specifically, this clip claims that
There is no law which ...
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May only licensed electricians change light bulbs in Australia?
Just researching legal oddities and came across this one:
Dumb Laws in Australia
Only licensed electricians may change a light bulb.
Some sources attribute it only to the state of Victoria.
Does ...
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Did Australia ban small-breasts pornography?
There is a widely spread news about Australia banning pornography featuring actresses with A-cup breasts.
Aussie censor balks at bijou boobs
Australia's 'small breast' ban
Australia Bans Small ...
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Is Alberta ending coronavirus restrictions because of failing to provide evidence of SARS-COV2 virus existence in court?
Variations of this image circulate claiming that a man named Patrick King won a court case in which he challenged the province to provide an isolated sample of the virus, which they failed. The rumors ...
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Do software patents stifle creativity?
Is there any evidence to support the claim that software patents stifle creativity and put many people at risk of legal action?
If necessary refer to some background reading:
Seriously think about ...
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Is it illegal in the U.S. for legal professionals to answer legal questions on public Internet forums?
A SE moderator said:
[I]n the US, at least, legal professionals are not permitted to answer questions on a site like this.
It seems odd that a law would prohibit someone who has passed a Bar exam ...
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Is Idaho forcing pastors to conduct same-sex weddings or face penalties?
According to this article from "ADF" and this in the Washington Post, the city of Coeur d'Alene is requiring the Knapps, an ordained couple, to conduct same sex weddings or face penalties ...
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Do death penalty cases cost the state more than life-long imprisonment?
There are some claims on anti-death penalty sites that death penalty (in USA) costs are significantly more then costs of long-time imprisonment.
For example :
The death penalty is much more expensive ...
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Does banning abortion significantly increase or decrease the number of abortions?
According to the following article, the oft quoted result that abortion is higher in countries where it is legal is misleading:
The obvious problem with The Lancet study is that many of the
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Does legalizing prostitution decrease sexual violence against all women?
In the debate about legalizing prostitution, yes or no, one claim is the legalization will decrease sexual violence against all women.
For example from answers of pros in the link provided:
"It ...
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Was the 16th Amendment (income tax) improperly ratified?
Bill Benson released The Law that Never Was in 1985, which "claims that the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, commonly known as the income tax amendment, was never properly ...
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Did there use to be a law that made attempted suicide a capital offence punishable by hanging in Britain?
This one seem to be all over trivia lists, but I'm having trouble finding a reference to anything credible. The claim goes something like this:
According to a British law passed in 1845, [attempted]...
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Has income tax been found unconstitutional by a court?
Someone told me that there are people who claim that the income tax, and by extension the IRS, is unconstitutional, and that some have won in court using this argument. Is this true?
An example of a ...
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Can Israeli settlers shoot Palestinians with impunity?
According to one prolific contributor to Yahoo Answers:
So-called "Israeli settlers" can shoot Palestinians at will without fear of prosecution so you do want a lot of doctors,and although it ...
user4951
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Until 2016, did Germany require rape victims to physically resist their attackers?
From The Independent Germany to tighten rape laws in wake of Cologne attacks, but a search for Google News of "rape Germany laws" also gives matches for The Daily Mail, and Russia Today:
Currently, ...
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Did an unmarried couple in Iran get shot for holding hands in 2007?
In this video from 2007 Douglas Murray, a British journalist and critic of Islam, says:
In Iran, when people - when a couple were shot the other week for
holding hands when not being married, the ...
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Is gratuitous farm animal abuse condoned by the USDA?
I recently watched the short film "From Farm To Fridge."
(It contains video footage of farm animals being abused and killed.)
Obviously the video makes an emotional appeal more so than a purely ...
user16638
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Are there discriminatory laws against Israelis marrying Palestianians?
I saw this on Facebook today in the wake of the SCOTUS decision on gay marriage.
While the world celebrates gay marriage victory:
In Israel, you can marry anyone as long as he/she not Palestinian. :
...
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Would lowering the speed limit in NYC by 5mph lower the number of pedestrian deaths by a factor of 2?
According to the Mayor of New York City, De Blasio: (my emphasis)
Excessive speed contributes to 25 percent of roadway fatalities on New York City Streets and is the leading cause of motor vehicle ...
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Are incarcerated pedophiles protected by special laws in federal prison in the US?
Andrew Auernheimer (aka. weev) is reported to have said last Friday:
"Did you know they have special laws to protect kid-fuckers in federal
prison?” Andrew Auernheimer asked me with a grin on his ...
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Are the UK and Sweden in violation of international law with respect to detaining Julian Assange?
According to https://freeassangenow.org/faq and https://justice4assange.com/:
Why do the UK and Sweden disobey international law?
There is a conflict between the United Kingdom’s obligations to the ...
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Have any Freeman of the land applications been successful in court? [closed]
I've been reading about various groups purporting to be Freeman-on-the-land, which believe that contractual ties between the government and these people are only valid if the people consent to them. ...
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