(December 19, 2001) — Law ’lo n 1 a : a rule of conduct or action established by custom or laid down by the supreme governing authority of a community, state, or nation. In the second half of the twentieth century, courts have become a powerful state of the three branches of the United States government, thus impacting the lives of every American citizen every day. Though the specificity of laws has lasting impact upon our place in society, few of us follow legal institutions closely enough to understand their significance well. However, many teens agree some laws are just so complicated it is hard to understand what exactly they are intended to protect, if anything. California has tens of thousands of laws. There are so many that no one can count them all. And it isn’t like the majority of the laws serve a useful function. We have brilliant laws written by people who pretend they are doing something and the masses buy it simply because they don’t know any better. In Los Angeles, it is illegal for a man to beat his wife with a strap wider than two inches without her consent. You would think it would be illegal for a man to beat his wife with anything… let alone with something that has predetermined guidelines. Laws concerning animals have been passed as well. As a result, our furry little friends must watch their backs. One California law states animals are banned from mating publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school or place of worship. Can you imagine someone breaking up an act of love between two animals? In drivers education, you learned that pedestrians have the right of way. Well, in Arcadia, peacocks have the right of way to cross any street, including driveways. And in Temecula, ducks have the right of way to cross Rancho California Street at all times. Yes, it is our responsibility to know and abide by every law, yet it seems almost everything is illegal in some remote way. “It is against the law to do anything against the law,” says sophomore Nina Sanchez. It seems that every individual is guilty of at least one crime, but people are smart enough not to mind these laws and to live by their own common sense. A new law is passed almost every day and it seems that each new decree actually contradicts previous ones of the same content. By paying attention to these stupid laws, it takes time away from enforcing real issues, like murder or rape. Either that, or they ignore the laws as the public does. If you think about it, it’s a lose-lose situation. The only way we can prevail is to impede the creation of stupid laws-and our politicians and media will definitely be against that.