tattoodguy said:
ummmmmmmmmmm
if you try and kill me -------thats like attempted murder or something....
when i was talking about the bull shit laws -- i was more specificaly saying......stealing a gun.....possessing a gun.......cos neither of those............pose a direct risk to anyones safety.
if you point a gun at someone ----------- i think that should be a charge......but i dont necesarily think u should be put in jail over it.....depending on the circumstances.
if you shoot at someones house......but u dont hurt anyone..........you can probably put someohne in jail for it.......................but 14 years is redicious.
I was just pointing out...how rediculous the penalties were.......you can still charge people over these things..........and maybe inprison people........but under no circumstances should anyone be inprisoned more than a year......for simply having a gun...................... and 95% of the time they shouldnt even go to jail
Well, our society has agreed that these acts are wrong, and as a society, we want these acts to be illegal. As part of those laws, we usually specify a maximum penalty for it. That's to stop judges from prescribing draconian sentences (life imprisonment for stealing a gun, to use your example).
In addition, our laws sometimes prescribe *minimum* sentences as well. This is to stop judges giving sentences which are far too lenient. Not many crimes have a minimum sentence attached to them; in fact, I don't think I can quote a specific one from memory.
The point is, the figures you quoted are maximum sentences. As you said, an appropriate sentence often depends on the circumstances of a crime. In most cases, judges do not hand down the maximum sentence possible, but choose a sentence which they think is appropriate and in line with community expectations.
tattoodguy said:
there are amples examples of the police not being punished for things they do wrong...........such as illeegal searches......using unnesesary force..........they are yusually paid while under investigating for there fuck ups.......etc etc.........
So are you suggesting that we should presume their guilt until they're proven innocent and deny them their pay?
tattoodguy said:
there are double standards.
with the iraq thing ---------------and other things with politicains............i agree they have to follow our laws like the rest of us....
but they have extra responsibilities..........that should also mean we have additional laws specificaly designed to monitor their activities.
We do. For example, the Hansard is published and contains a record of everything said in Parliament. Documents are generally available under the Freedom of Information Act. If you want to have a look, check here:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/foia1982222/
tattoodguy said:
they make the laws in our country......................and protect them selves and the police........
So when you ask me to find a law....................that they broke....in relation to iraq............i cant find one..............cos they didnt make one.........cos they write the laws.......to protect themselves.
Actually, I suspect you can't find one because any such law would be unreasonable. After all, the point of having elected representatives is that we place our trust in them to make certain decisions and judgements. In a true, absolute democracy, the entire population would vote on every decision taken. That was possible in ancient Greek society, for example, where the voting population consisted only of the patricians -- a much smaller number than the 20 million people we have in Australia.
Instead, we entrust our representatives with the responsibility to take in the information that they gather (through, for example, ASIO) and to make judgements based on that information. In this case, they evidently decided that it was the right thing to do. If we start demanding overly restrictive laws, we may well end up with a government that cannot react appropriately to different situations.
tattoodguy said:
But its so obvious that its absolute bull shit.
At least to you.