Laws in this country: Under 18

stewiegriffin08

Hello all, So I went into the shop the other day with a headache... Thought to myself, well I will get some Panadol... anything at all. The woman at the counter goes... “Sorry, Have you got ID" I laughed and realised.... hold on a second she is serious?? .. She replied "It is against the law to sell you -Cigarettes, a box of matches? or any Tablets of any kind" .. I am 17 by the way, does this mean it is Illegal for me to possess matches about my person?

Anyway... I got over this after a few days... bit annoyed at these laws... but it cant be helped... I decided to buy a new phone... Internet browsing capabilities and all.... I thought... this is great! YouTube and everything.... Until I realised I have to be 18 to use the Internet browser on the mobile phone... No bebo... No Youtube... google searches were coming back negative, It told me to go into a Vodafone retailer with a passport to verify my age, Disgusted at this, I decided to buy GTAIV to see what the buzz was all about... and take me away from the horrors I was facing... “Sorry I cannot sell you this game unless you are over the age limit" :mad:

Let me get this straight... Legally.. I can drive to the to shop in a car (4022 lbs approx.. were talking a huge amount of mass here.... all being controlled by me, with a large amount of flammable liquid)... but I cannot play gtaIV ???

I cannot sit at home and play my PS3 in the safety and comfort of my own house... But Legally I am allowed to go upstairs, take MY licensed shotgun and my keys.... and go for a spin around the town?!? What do you do in GTAIV.... you drive around with guns.... ?

Please explain why the laws in this country are so messed up.... and Let me know what you think....


What age do you have to be to have an account on boards?

Sully

If your 12 (or is it 13?) or under your supposed to fill out whats known as a COPPA form to get your parents consent before joining most online communitys (dont know about Boards).

Over 18 is when your considered an adult in the eyes of the law, and they dont want kids watching violent video games. The idea behind it is that your more mature to handle the game, and wont copy or reinact part of the video game which a lot of people tend to do (in America it happens if my memory serves me correctly). Same with watching any pornographic movie or entering any porn shop. There all things considered to be okay for more mature teens rather then kids.

As for panadol, I think that was only recently introduced alongside with the law about how many you can buy (to prevent an overdose). Again, its to prevent you doing anything silly (including the use of matches - legaly I think you cant use a petrol pump til you about 18 or is it a bit younger?).

Del2005

stewiegriffin08 wrote: »

Hello all, So I went into the shop the other day with a headache... Thought to myself, well I will get some Panadol... anything at all. The woman at the counter goes... “Sorry, Have you got ID" I laughed and realised.... hold on a second she is serious?? .. She replied "It is against the law to sell you -Cigarettes, a box of matches? or any Tablets of any kind" .. I am 17 by the way, does this mean it is Illegal for me to possess matches about my person?

Anyway... I got over this after a few days... bit annoyed at these laws... but it cant be helped... I decided to buy a new phone... Internet browsing capabilities and all.... I thought... this is great! YouTube and everything.... Until I realised I have to be 18 to use the Internet browser on the mobile phone... No bebo... No Youtube... google searches were coming back negative, It told me to go into a Vodafone retailer with a passport to verify my age, Disgusted at this, I decided to buy GTAIV to see what the buzz was all about... and take me away from the horrors I was facing... “Sorry I cannot sell you this game unless you are over the age limit" :mad:

Let me get this straight... Legally.. I can drive to the to shop in a car (4022 lbs approx.. were talking a huge amount of mass here.... all being controlled by me, with a large amount of flammable liquid)... but I cannot play gtaIV ???

I cannot sit at home and play my PS3 in the safety and comfort of my own house... But Legally I am allowed to go upstairs, take MY licensed shotgun and my keys.... and go for a spin around the town?!? What do you do in GTAIV.... you drive around with guns.... ?

Please explain why the laws in this country are so messed up.... and Let me know what you think....


What age do you have to be to have an account on boards?

Consider yourself lucky in the USA you can drive at 16. Join the armed forces and fight for your country at 16 but you can't get a beer till you're 21 and god help you if you are caught with alcohol under 21 cause you loose your drivers licence.

TBH we where a joke years ago, they neve checked ID for anything. The world has changed and now that people are more inclined to resort to litigation for the slightest issue shops have to be very carefull not to get themselves in trouble. Also we are now getting underage stings so shops can get in trouble with the law if they sell to underage people

I'd say complaim to you're TD but they won't care till you turn 18 and can vote for them and then it's not an issue for you:)

Sully wrote: »

Over 18 is when your considered an adult in the eyes of the law, and they dont want kids watching violent video games. The idea behind it is that your more mature to handle the game, and wont copy or reinact part of the video game which a lot of people tend to do (in America it happens if my memory serves me correctly). Same with watching any pornographic movie or entering any porn shop. There all things considered to be okay for more mature teens rather then kids.

As for panadol, I think that was only recently introduced alongside with the law about how many you can buy (to prevent an overdose). Again, its to prevent you doing anything silly (including the use of matches - legaly I think you cant use a petrol pump til you about 18 or is it a bit younger?).

AFAIK people have tried to use it as a denfense but it's never held up when examined.

cushtac

Del2005 wrote: »

Consider yourself lucky in the USA you can drive at 16. Join the armed forces and fight for your country at 16 but you can't get a beer till you're 21 and god help you if you are caught with alcohol under 21 cause you loose your drivers licence.

Off-topic, but you can't enter basic training in the US until you're 18.

Victor

Drugs companies are very slow to approve drugs for under 18s (a) children and teenagers will react to the drug differently to adults (b) it may be un-ethical to experiment on under 18s.

Bandara

I can't see the problem with refusing to sell and minor drugs, cigarettes or alcohol. Its a basic common sense issue. Children or minors cannot be permitted to take drugs without supervision, what reason on earth does a 17 year old have for matches other than to start a fire or smoke, both of which are not permitted.

People here need to wise uop and realise that the old "ah sure it didn't do me any harm" attitude of years ago was very wrong.

You are underage, if the shop assistant prevents one person from smoking (and therefore killing themselves) for the rest of their life by her actions in refusing to sell them, then its a huge success on her part.

Pines

stewiegriffin08 wrote: »

But Legally I am allowed to go upstairs, take MY licensed shotgun and my keys.... and go for a spin around the town?!? What do you do in GTAIV.... you drive around with guns.... ?

Last time I played GTA, I found you didn't get very far through the game by simply putting your shotgun under the seat and taking a spin to see the sights.

Having said that, I sympathise with the OP to the extent that anyone who is just the wrong side of an age ban will chafe at the bonds. If you decide that 17 year olds should be allowed to do X, then 16 year olds will think it's absurd that they can't too, so why not just drop the age limit down for them ... and it goes ad infinitum.

But the real anomaly here IMO is that under 18's are allowed to drive, marry, or own a shotgun :eek:.

Loogie

Opinions on broad spectrum issues that incorporate age always lead to apparent contradictions. Public/Political/Legal opinions can often loosen/toughen restrictions or lift/impose bans depending on current affairs.

Lots of laws make sense when applied to the situations they were designed to regulate and then make no sense whatsoever when applied to situations that fall on either side of the intended situation but to which the laws still apply.

We're left dealing with the fall out, trying to reconcile laws that are often open to interpretation.

America seems to run test upon test of laws leading to overdevelopment of intricacies in the laws. For example, the thinking in PA was that underage drinking must be stamped out and all adults were obliged to enforce this. I once read (I can't remeber the general details just a few items that branded themselves into my memory) in Pennsylvania that the owner of a property, on which minors under the age of 21 were found drinking, would be fined $17,000 for each incident - in this case for each individual under 21. You go away for the weekend and your kid has a party with 30 people drinking and they're all under 21? Oooh, boy. Too much?

Also age, like sex, is often used to determine the demarcation of limits but, I believe, is totally prejudicial. I've met some 16 year old who behave like 25 year olds and others that behave like 12 year olds. You could give them all psych-evaluations to determine the level of maturity but that's not practical. We're stuck with the age/sex thing.

I'm a guy and for that reason and no other, I got screwed on car insurance. Prejudicial but justified by averages. That's you too, my friend.

But hey, it could all change tomorrow as a result of something that happens in the news and makes it onto Joe Duffy etc. Depends on what day of the week it is...

Carawaystick

Hammertime wrote: »

I can't see the problem with refusing to sell and minor drugs, cigarettes or alcohol. Its a basic common sense issue. Children or minors cannot be permitted to take drugs without supervision, what reason on earth does a 17 year old have for matches other than to start a fire or smoke, both of which are not permitted.

because there are no other possible uses for matches....????
lighting a stove, lighting a candle, lighting a fire in a fireplace, preventing the ends of a rope from fraying, are four legal examples of what I was doing with matches when I was 12 with Scouts.

Most children take drugs with little or no supervision, it's just that most people don't consider the Caffeine in coca cola to be a drug, not theobromine in chocolate to be a drug.