Salvador Teo
Nov. 10, 2008
5th Period
Laws are made to protect the public. From what? A thirteen year old menace? The 14th amendment of the United States Constitution, states that any state shall not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. However, many cities and states in the US currently enforce curfew laws that deny young teens under the age of 18 their right to be in public places or to drive after certain hours. These laws are punishing minors for exercising their constitutional rights in the same way that adults do without such punishment, they are mostly causing no harm, and do not deserve to be discriminated against by the government in the way they are.
Many believe that teens are responsible for a large percentage of crimes, particularly violent ones, and that having a curfew in effect helps lower crime rates. In one study, the average adult surmised that teens amount for 43% of all violent crimes, when in reality the number is only a mere 13%, and this number is made up by only a half percent of minors. If this is the reason for creating curfews, it is clearly a discrimination against all minors, as reproving 99.5% of young citizens due to an insignificant number of minors committing crime is certainly unfair.
Seriously think about it, what do you think of when you hear the word curfew? Is it a time that your parents have set for you so you don’t stay out late? Why should we, teenagers, have curfews? Why does the law get involved with your curfew? When I think about the word curfew these are the questions that come to my mind. As a teenager I abide by a curfew. I am not against curfews that your parents have assigned you, just when the law gets involved with it. Many police go around at ten o’ clock p.m. making sure that no kids under eighteen are on the streets or even entertaining places. I think...