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Look at what is happening with gay marriage. It started changing at the state level, and once the public sentiment changed enough some of the previous federal r
by cstejerean 13y ago
Look at what is happening with gay marriage. It started changing at the state level, and once the public sentiment changed enough some of the previous federal restrictions are starting to fall as well. The same could (in theory) happen with marijuana if a critical mass of states begin to legalize.
- ojbyrne 13y agoExcellent point. Consensus seems to come at the state level. Another example that seems to be happening lately is reforming of mandatory sentencing/3 strikes laws.
- ISL 13y agoSome would argue that this is the point of federalism. Many small experiments carried out in parallel. The good ideas get adopted; the poor ones get dropped. It's a little like the MVP of government.
- MichaelApproved 13y agoOn a similar note but different law, some feel abortion was federally legalized before the states had a chance to fully settle it. Some say the previous abortion battle was never fully litigated and that's why there's a resurgence in anti-abortion laws. There's an advantage to allowing the states to hash out laws. It's frustrating because it's slow but it also gives people a chance to catch up with the progression.