In no particular order, here are some US laws that are much different than the rest of the
world!
5 - Alcohol Laws
Ahhhh, everyone’s favorite type of drink, alcohol!
Well, most people’s anyways.
As is often the case with many things, the US has a different relationship with alcohol
than other countries around the world.
As many of you are well aware, the legal drinking age in America is 21.
In most places in the world, not only is the legal drinking age 18, it’s also just a
much less taboo subject altogether.
For example, in a lot of European countries, legal drinking ages only apply to public consumption.
In the home, kids often are allowed have alcohol with their dinner, under the supervision of
their parents, at least in theory anyway.
You also have places like Mexico, where the legal age is technically 18, but the law isn’t
enforced all that strictly.
In fact ID’s are rarely checked at all, so people often get away with drinking before
they turn 18.
This is also the norm in many Asian countries as well, where parents can probably send their
12 year old kid to go buy a 6 pack downstairs at the local convenience store.
This is just a guess, let me know if you’ve actually done this or know of someone doing
this in Hong Kong or something.
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In Belgium, you have to be 16 to purchase booze, but minors can drink it in public if
mom and dad accompany them, or some other adult buys it for them.
France is similar.
There’s actually no law forbidding minors from drinking, though it’s technically against
the law to sell it to kids under 18.
And until 2009, the age was just 16.
In Germany, people as young as 14 can drink beer and wine if a parent or guardian is with
them, and they can drink it alone if they’re at least 16.
For stronger drinks, you’d still need to be 18 or older to drink it legally.
Another thing to bring up is the open container law.
In the US, you can’t publically consume alcohol or walk around with an open container
of alcohol, except in a handful of areas, such as the cities of New Orleans and Las
Vegas.
There are also laws that designate the date and time you can purchase alcohol, depending
on which state or even town you live.
I could go on and on, but you’re probably starting to get the picture.
Oh, and by the way, I gotta mention the countries that ban drinking altogether.
In countries which are largely ruled by theocracies, drinking, along with other vices, such as
smoking and certain types of sex, are banned.
Just to name a few countries, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Kuwait, and Afghanistan all
make the list.
In these countries, the penalty for drinking can be pretty harsh, such as in Saudi Arabia,
where people have been publicly flogged, and thrown in prison for drinking.
Definitely would suck to be an expat there if you like your cognacs!
Anyway, in the States, you have to be 21, or at least have a Fake ID.
This law is enforced pretty strictly in a lot of cases, as going all four years without
an underage drinking violation is an impressive feat in college.
Some people have argued that lowering the drinking age in America might be a smart thing
to do, as moderate consumption from an early age could teach about the importance of moderation,
and help prevent alcohol abuse.
Proponents argue that limiting and establishing healthy drinking habits at an early age, will
lead to fewer people becoming raging alcoholics later in life.
Others counter that no, the age shouldn’t be lowered and that existing laws should actually
be strengthened.
They point out, there’s already enough drinking and driving accidents as it is, and giving
booze to youngsters will exacerbate that problem.
No matter how you frame your argument though, one thing is clear.
America regulates alcohol differently than most parts of the world.
While countries in Europe, South America, and Asia have much more relaxed laws, places
in the Middle East are on the other side of the fence.
We’re kinda middle of the road, which is just fine by me.
4 - The De@th Penalty
The use of the Death Penalty dates back to ancient times.
It’s mentioned in the Bible, the Torah, and all kinds of ancient texts.
Pretty much all societies have had some form of it.
Remember the French revolution and all those people who were beheaded in the guillotine?
Or when Rome used to feed prisoners to lions?
Yeah, it’s always been a thing in human civilization, whether you agree with it or
not.
Just like taxes!
However, over the past few hundred years, the practice of killing other human beings
for crimes has been phased out by some countries.
Even in the U.S, some states have abolished the death penalty.
To date, 103 countries in the world have abolished the practice altogether, including pretty
much all of Europe.
There are 30 nations that do have the death penalty, but haven’t executed anyone in
more than a decade, and another 6 use it only in extreme circumstances, such as for war
crimes or whatever.
Then there are countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, China, and North Korea where
the Death Penalty is used pretty often.
Especially in North Korea, where Kim Jong-un rules the land.
While there aren’t any stats on this, Kim Jong-un is known for holding primitive style
public executions.
People are hung, shot, electrocuted, and even dec@pitated in public.
And you don’t have to really do anything all that bad.
For example, watching p0rn can be punishable by death, as are a range of other crimes such
as treason, or simply disrespecting the all powerful Kim Family.
In Syria, which we already mentioned, large numbers of people are allegedly executed in
secret, so we have no idea just how many people are put to death each year.
But the United States is the only Western Country that still uses the death penalty.
While 19 states, such as Michigan, Vermont, and New York, have banned the practice, it’s
still used in the rest of the US.
That’s 31 states, just in case you needed a little help!
In the states where the death penalty is a thing, lethal injection is the main method
of execution.
However, in the past, somewhat more barbaric methods, such as hanging, electrocutions,
and even firing squads have been used.
Being one of the few industrialized countries to use capital punishment, the U.S constitution
bans “cruel and unusual” punishment, per the 8th Amendment.
We also have a thing called due Process and a super complicated appeals system, which
gives people sentenced to death a chance to appeal their sentence.
People can sometimes spend years and years on death row.
So while the U.S does put people to death, the process to do so is a little bit more
judicial than other places in the world.
3 - Privacy Laws
In the U.S, many people feel like their privacy is constantly being invaded.
Not just in some sort of Orwellian, big brother government conspiracy kind of way.
Companies collecting data on consumers in order to deliver their marketing efforts more
efficiently really has some people spooked.
But in Europe, for example, privacy laws for consumers are a bit more stringent in order
to reach consumers.
Case in point, any company wishing to collect data on consumers must register with the government
in order to do so.
They also can’t collect data without consumers’ permission, and can’t share it with other
businesses without expressed consent from the consumer.
While the exact nature of privacy laws vary from each country in the European Union, you
can pretty much get the intent.
In 1995 they passed The Directive on Data Protection, which mandated that each country
pass privacy protection laws aimed at protecting consumers, and from investigating any breach
of privacy.
One reason European Governments tend to be more proactive in protecting data privacy
is that supposedly Europeans regard data privacy as a human right.
Just think back to stuff like the Nazis or any other number of dictatorships who often
secretly collected data on people, and you can kind of see why Europeans aren’t big
fans of any kind of secret data collection.
Moving forward, laws protecting personal data are only going to become more stringent in
the EU.
Companies found to be violating privacy laws are subject to massive fines.
This policy is much different from the US, where laws DO exist to protect consumers,
but it’s usually done at the state level.
So there’s no federal law that regulates data collection.
The U.S tends to have a business first approach that favors policies that help companies run
their business.
Of course the flip side of that is that the Government isn’t quite as fettered as the
businesses.
For example, in the U.K the cops have this ridiculously crazy system known as an Automatic
Plate Recognition System.
It scans your plate numbers when you drive by, and if you haven’t paid your vehicle
tax, they pull you over, and arrest you.
On the flip side, Americans don’t really trust their government all that much anyways,
with good reason.
So privacy laws in the U.S tend to aim at keeping the Federal Government from invading
people’s and even business’s privacy rather than keeping corporations in check.
2 - Zoning Laws
The next time you drive around a U.S city, take a few moments to notice some of things
around you.
Does it seem a bit spread out?
Buildings might be a bit bigger, roads are wider and our interstate system is very expansive.
For those of you who’re international, I’m sure it’s something that doesn’t need
to be said.
Okay, now go to Europe...or look at pictures, or maybe you live there, or have been there.
I’m just trying to make a point here.
Anyway, European cities tend to be a bit more dense.
Buildings and house aren’t as big, roads are smaller, and land use isn’t quite as
segregated.
How space is used in the US makes quite a lot of sense.
Quick history lesson here.
Virtually all European countries were established well before America, and cities were developed
way before the car was invented.
American cities and especially the suburbs, with a few exceptions, saw most of their growth
post automobile.
Back before the car was invented, Americans were still exploring and settling westward
and had plenty of room to work with.
So as a result, America tends to have cities that are more spread out, while European cities
are much more dense.
That affects zoning laws significantly.
For example, many European countries, have what’s called a congestion tax.
They basically don’t have the space for everyone to be driving their cars all over
the place, so people have to pay a tax just to get their cars into metropolitan areas.
The idea is to dissuade people from driving.
Yeah, that wouldn’t fly in America, because it just wouldn’t make much sense as public
transit is unreliable and inefficient and also because Americans just love cars too
much .
Because cities in other countries have less space, they tend to have tighter zoning laws
regulating who can build what where.
It’s kind of a way to sustain space and resources.
It’s usually a centralized process that comes from the federal government.
In the U.S, zoning laws tend to be hammered out at state and local levels, and work towards
making sure new buildings or infrastructures don’t harm existing buildings or houses.
In other parts of the world, such as Japan and Singapore, the government has commissions
that work to develop urban growth across their respective countries.
So to put it simple, the U.S allows states and cities to regulate their own zoning laws
while most other developed countries regulate zoning at a more centralized level.
1 - Gun laws
‘Murica.
We love our guns.
In case you’re one of our international viewers, the 2nd Amendment guarantees the
right for American citizens to bear arms.
That way, in case the government turns evil, the people can band together and defend themselves
from the government.
Of course, that’s just one reason the founding fathers of the United States wrote that into
law.
Adopted in 1791, the Second Amendment was part of the Bill of Rights, which is the first
ten amendments of the constitution.
These amendments outline personal liberties for individuals and the limitations of the
federal government.
As written is as follows.
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right
of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
The concept itself dates all the back to 17th century English Common Law and the English
Bill of Rights.
As Sir William Blackstone put it, people have the right to defend themselves and to band
together to fight oppression.
So while there’s not much room to debate the legality of gun ownership, there’s been
some debate, to put it lightly, on the issue as to the extent of what is and isn’t protected
under the 2nd Amendment.
Depending on who you ask, America is too strict or too loose on gun laws.
Can any law abiding citizens from owning military grade weapons, such as a rocket launcher?
The Supreme Court has made rulings in the past that suggest the 2nd amendment doesn't
preclude the government from banning certain types of weapons, while more recent rulings
have shifted towards a more laissez-faire approach.
Needless to say, it’s a pretty contentious topic here in the good ol’ US of A, as murders
from guns keep piling up in cities in such places as Chiraq, or better known as Chicago.
To people who don’t live in America, this can sometimes be confusing, since gun laws
are a bit stricter in most countries.
In the U.K for instance, they’ve pretty much banned cartridges for handguns.
In 1997, strict laws banning the cartridges were passed and tough penalties for those
found to have illegal guns can be pretty steep.
Usually a fine, but prison sentences aren’t unheard of either.
In Germany, while gun ownership isn’t all that restricted, they do have a different
approach to things than America.
For example, anyone under the age of 25 is welcome to buy a gun, but they first have
to submit to a physiological evaluation, where they undergo personality tests.
Anyone over the age of 25 who owns a gun, may have to undergo tests if they commit some
kind of crime.
Germany also makes it difficult to own more than one weapon, and a national gun registry
was established in 2013.
This allows the cops to also do spot checks of people’s houses to make sure gun owners
are complying with the law.
For many Americans, that’s just way too much infringement on our freedoms.
.
Then take Japan for another example.
They have a “zero tolerance” policy more or less.
Owning a handgun is outright banned.
Now that doesn’t mean nobody can have a gun.
In fact, more than 250,000 people own shotguns in Japan.
However, in order to legally own a gun, they have to attend safety classes, take a written
and practical exam, and undergo a psychological analysis of sorts before they can own a gun.
Japan has one of the lowest rates of gun crimes each year, and the few people who dare violate
this particular law are pretty much people who’re in the yakuza.
I’ll let you guys discuss out the pros and cons of each approach.
We’re just here to point out what’s different.
Here’s what’s next!