Tuesday, December 11, 2012
December question 2
For at least 20 years there has been much discussion in American politics about the privatization of social security (compensation and benefits for retired citizens), about the federalization of health care (Obamacare), and the like. Coupled with the recent passage of same-sex marriage laws and legalization of marijuana laws in some states, it seems that the states’ rights vs. federal control argument is back and stronger than ever. Choose a single contemporary issue and, once again, sum it up in a sentence and then comment on whether or not you feel it is the states or the federal government who should be making the final decisions in such situations.
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John F. (USA)
ReplyDeleteInternet copyright laws is a much heated debate in America. What can be classified at intellectual property and what impact would it have on our Internet if people who violate these copyright laws were actually held accountable? With the much debated on SOPA and PIPA, one might question what is actually my property anymore? Let's think about it this way... You see a photo on Facebook that your friends posted. The photo has not been taken by your friend nor has it been cited (which is most always the case). Technically, yes your friend has violated copyright laws. Your friend had no legal "rights" to the photo. If we allow the government to control copyright issues, we could risk falling into total caos due to not every side being rightfully represented. What SOPA and PIPA planned to do is target individuals who did violate copyright laws and punish them by a maximum of 5 years in prison. If we allow the copyright issues to be a state's issue, it allows the citizens of those individual states to be represented more equal then if internet copyright laws were a federal government issue.
Many states are arguing for gay marriage. In my opinion, it is the states who should be making the final dicisions becuse obviously not everyone agree with it. Therefore, people with different opinions can be satisfied when states have the rights to dicide. Moreover, it will be easier for the local government to rule.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, states should be making certain decisions for themselves like gay marriage but the government should be making the decision on marijuana laws. For example, gay marriage should be allowed in many states because people argue towards this.
ReplyDeleteAngela (Italy)
ReplyDeleteA controversial topic is gay marriage. However, more than an argument between federal control and states rights, I feel like marriage between gay people should be a religious matter and that the government should stay out of it. If two people of the same sex want to marry only legally and not in church, maybe to feel more connected and to have financial securities, then the law should be blind and not care if they are of the same sex. On the other hand, I understand how religion might have an issue with it. I'm not saying that it is wrong or right, I understand both sides' views. Anyway, if I had to choose, I think that it should be a matter of state decision; as it is an arguable issue, if more people can decide then more people will be satisfied.
One controversial topic is abortion. In some states, depending on people that live in a particular state and their mentality, people's opinion about abortion may vary. As an example, in NY state there are a lot of different migrants from different countries with a huge variety of moral and liberal standards, so people might support abortion. On the other side, in Louisiana there are more conservative american people who wouldn't support abortion. Therefore, abortion legality should depend on the state.
ReplyDeleteGay marriage laws cause a huge controversy between people. I agree with Angela that is a matter of Religion. Bt in my personal opinion, any kind of regulation needed in this same-sex laws the governement should be the one making the decisions. It is not fair that some people have the right in their own state, and others don't have the same rights. Everyone or no one!
ReplyDeleteI guess states can have opportunity to make laws unless they are against the Constitution. In my opinion, the abortion issue can be the states' institution. However, the gay-marriage problem should be decided by the federal government
ReplyDeleteWhen talking about gay marriage, I think it is important to remember that in the past America worked hard for equality. This means that now a day America should't involve disrespect to gay marriages because everyone deserves to decide what kind of life they wish they want to have for themselves. US has a democratic president now, so gay marriages are allowed and this is a great things for America. I think it should be allowed anywhere i the world for people's freedom rights.
ReplyDeleteThe legalisation of Drugs has long been one of the most debated ones. The legalisation of not only medical marijuana but also for private use has not seem much improvement over the passed years. Although recently more states allowed the use of it. Another Topic of heated discussions is the use of Abortion for unwanted children. In many EU countries for example it has been legalised but only before the age of 6 months. The United States slowly accepted this fact and by now it is legal in most of the states. The topic of Abortion has existed over many decades now and it took much too long for a decision to be made in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI believe it's normal the state laws to be stronger but if we think about it, they are not stronger than the country states. Every state law has to pass through a lot of people in order to be approved and actually they don't really do whatever they want to. If a state law is good enough to be approved, than it will. If there is a state law that is not a good one, than it will not be approved. It is very well known that there is a huge fight between the republicans and the democrats concerning different civil laws like abortion and gay marriage but that will change from generation to generation because people usually get bored of rules and they always change them more or less.
ReplyDeleteGay Marriage was one of the most discussed topics. Barack Obama thinks that gay Marriage should be allowed and people can have it, but actually different states have different religious views that is take it's part there. So Federal Government should be aware of speaking for all states, some states just can't allow gay marriage.
ReplyDeleteIn my point of view, things which are affecting all people in America should be held by government. People should not feel that, when just escape one state they are going to be released from one main issue which is going on in their lives. The things which are critical should be for sure held by government. For instance , what if one serial killer who belongs to a state where there is death penalty, kills one person but than he just escapes and he was released. This is not right at all. People should suffer from the things that they had done equally. Despite the things which are not that critical ,should make sense in a way that it explains, America is a huge country so with this huge land that they have there should be some diversity. As an example to this, gamble. What if gambling was okay in every state in America. We can actually think also in a macro economical way, by asking our selves this question. What if gamble was allowed in every single country? Than probably economy would be collapsed. Thats why in some countries it is allowed and in some it is not. So people can't reach to casinos that often. Even in US if you are from Las Vegas, you are not allowed to enter a Casino more than a certain amount in a month . This actually make sense, and it can be considered as a protectionism.
ReplyDeleteGay marriage, drug legalization, abortion and all of these issues are being chosen by the state iself. I think that all of these choices, should be a state decision, even though they are all part of one country. The reason is becasue it is very difficult to make everyone agree on such controversial arguments. If the states are allowed to choose the law, people will be more satisfied since they can make their own decision independently from the federal government.
ReplyDeleteI feel that issues that deal with the right of citizens, such as the rights to property and freedom, for example gay marriage. Should be dealt by the government, since they deal with the freedom of the population as a whole, while issues of regional effect should be state policy, such as the driving license test. The states should exert their rights to make laws, but always respecting the federal laws and the constitution.
ReplyDeleteOne of the arguments currently discussed in US is about abortion. There are two sides which are pro-abortion and anti-abortion. By the way, as a resolution for this problem, each state should make a law in which they specify whether they legalize abortion or not since US is too big to control whole parts just by the government.
ReplyDeleteAbortion is certainly, as Maria says, a religious issue and as an Italian and, over everything, as a Catholic, I've never respected the pro-abortion choice. ABORTION IS ONE OF TODAY'S BIGGEST ISSUES AND EACH STATE SHOULD TAKE A FINAL DECISION. In my opinion abortion can be consider as killing a person. I understand that in this case, a country such as the United States cannot take a decision based on religious matters as its huge territorial presence of minorities distinguishes this particular country in the entire world. Each state should vote to take a final decision to make its majorities happier and give the chance to every citizen to move to a different state in case this particular person would like to practice abortion, in order to respect every sing thought or religion of American citizens.
ReplyDeleteI agree, every state SHOULD have their own vote for the final decision. Because a nationwide final stand on abortion would be too much. This would anger many people and religions whether it be pro life or pro choice. There is too much individual culture in the United States to have a final ruling on such a big topic.
Delete-Chris.k
Legalization of marijuana has been a controversy in many states over a long period of time. The states seem to have omnipotent power over federal law and I believe 3 states have legalized the movement to a certain standard. The plant can also be a major economic boost because hemp is a fine product. On the other hand smoking the flower has multiple cures and should be a valid medicine for qualified patients. The only down side to passing the law is the potential to put cotton factories out of business. In my opinion, the states should have control over the situation because the United States is to big of a country to satisfy all sorts of different opinionated people.
ReplyDeleteSame-sex marriage has only really been an issue to those who believe it is against the teachings of certain religions. The main issue with this topic is the fact that religion is dominating the decision making behind this topic and that is not right. That is why I believe that many states who have already legalized same-sex marriage, have chosen to do so because the majority of their population does not prioritize the teachings of their certain belief over human rights. Which in the end makes it acceptable because the federal laws cannot accommodate to every state individually, leading the majority of each state to have their own opinion and ability to make their own decisions on certain topics.
ReplyDeleteThe legalization of Marijuana has become quite relevent in our society. States have began to legalize the usage, arguing that crime will go down and people will not need to do illegal things to get it. The thought process is around the same of when drinking was illegal and speakeasies came to be and crime went up. This should not be a state wise issue. The federal government should have control because it is such a large topic and should be consistent throughout, in order to not cause a shift in population of states therefore effecting voting.
ReplyDelete-Ryan M
Activism in regards to same-sex rights has picked up momentum in recent years. In more recent months, same-sex rights have been granted in nine states and in another 12 states allow "domestic partnerships" or "civil unions". However, even with the growing success of gay rights, the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which was issued earlier, causes even the states who have recognized gay marriage to have limited benefits. The act defines "marriage" and "spouse" as a man and woman and prohibits federal recognition of all same-sex marriages. In regards to this issue, the state governments are in their own right to go against DOMA and vote for however their state population feels about the right of same-sex marriage. The federal government needs to look at its umbrella of a law, DOMA, and realize that its not keeping anyone dry; the states are making their own choices with this issue because it is so important and prevalent to so many people's lives.
ReplyDelete