faustus@ucbcad.UUCP (11/06/84)
> We therefor call for the elimination of all restrictions on immigration, the > abolition of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Border Patrol, > and a declaration of full amnesty for all people who have entered the country > illegally. We oppose government welfare payments to non-citizens just as > we oppose government welfare payments to all other persons. Then people from countries with miserable conditions due to overcrowding will flood into the country until conditions here are as bad as the other countries. Is this what you want? > Children are human beings and, as such, have all the rights of human beings. > > We oppose all laws that empower government officials to seize children and > make them "wards of the state" or, by means of child labor laws and compulsory > education, to infringe on their freedom to work or learn as they choose. > We oppose all legally created or sanctioned discrimination directed at any > other artificially defined sub-category of human beings. Specifically we > oppose ordinances that outlaw adults-only apartments. > > We also support the repeal of all laws establishing any category of crimes > applicable to children for which adults would not be similarly answerable > such as curfew, smoking, and alcoholic beverage laws, and other status > offenses. Similarly, we favor the repeal of "stubborn child" laws and laws > establishing the category of "persons in need of supervision". We call for > an end to the practice in many states of jailing children not accused of any > crime. We seek the repeal of all "children's codes" of statutes which > abridge due process protections for young people. We further favor the > abolition of the juvenile court system, so that juveniles will be held fully > responsible for their crimes. This is absurd! How can you hold a ten-year-old responsible for actions that he doesn't even understand? Children are entitled to rights, as are adults, but there is a vast difference between an adult and a young child, and to treat them the same in the legal system is like extending laws against theft to animals, so if a dog steals your food he can be tried and sent to jail. Children aren't animals, but they are similar in that they can't be held responsible for many of their actions. > Children should always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming > the administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon > their parents or other guardians and assuming all the responsibilities > of adulthood. What if they really aren't mature enough for this? Just saying, "Sure, I'm mature enough" doesn't make it true. If there are more parts of the Platform coming, I'll comment on them too (unless of course I am flamed at for wasting people's time by stating the obvious :-) Wayne
ecl@hocsj.UUCP (11/12/84)
Reference: <47@cbsck.UUCP>, <2775@ucbcad.UUCP> There seem to be some serious problems with parts of the platform, I agree. O For example, >> We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over >> their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, >> so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others >> to live in whatever manner they choose. >> ... >> Children are human beings and, as such, have all the rights of human beings. >> >> We oppose all legally created or sanctioned discrimination directed at any >> other artificially defined sub-category of human beings. Specifically we >> oppose ordinances that outlaw adults-only apartments. Unravelling the negatives here, the platform is in favor of allowing adults-only apartments. But that is sanctioned discrimination against children! >> We further favor the >> abolition of the juvenile court system, so that juveniles will be held fully >> responsible for their crimes. > This is absurd! How can you hold a ten-year-old responsible for > actions that he doesn't even understand? Absolutely! >> Children should always have the right to establish their maturity by assuming >> the administration and protection of their own rights, ending dependency upon >> their parents or other guardians and assuming all the responsibilities >> of adulthood. > What if they really aren't mature enough for this? Just saying, > "Sure, I'm mature enough" doesn't make it true. And what happens when a three-year-old runs away from home because his mother wanted him to drink his milk? He's entitled to do this to assert his maturity? Or better yet, a ten-year-old runs away from home. He gets by for a day or so, then decides to go home. Has he "established his maturity..."? Do his parents have to take him back? What rights do parents have in all this? >> Whenever parents or other guardians are unable or unwilling to care for their >> children, those guardians have the right to seek other persons who are willing >> to assume guardianship, and children have the right to seek other guardians >> who place a higher value on their lives. This seems to assume that parents have some responsibility toward their children. If they have responsibilities, they have rights. (This is the only part of the platform that really seems ill thought out; the rest may have problems, but it's not completely illogical. This part is.) Evelyn C. Leeper ...ihnp4!hocsj!ecl