Kansas: Fill & Download for Free

Laws were made to be followed. That statement should go without saying. The most basic definition of a law is that it is a piece of writing that people have to live by. People under the jurisdiction of a law have to adhere to and comply with the exact wording of said law.But what happens when the wording is too exact? What happens when a clever person thinks outside the box and behaves in a way that - while exploitative - is not technically in violation of any laws?That, my friends, is exactly what loophole abuse is. I’m Ethan James, and in this answer, I will list and recount several creative examples of loophole abuse that have occurred in human history. Enjoy!“It’s not indecent exposure if it’s art”Back in 2001, a law was passed in the town of Boise, Idaho banning“…complete nudity in public unless it has ‘serious artistic merit’”[1]The intentions behind the law were clear: crack down on nudie bars, but provide an exception for things like stage plays and tasteful art pieces.Chris Teague - owner of the Erotic City Strip Club in Boise - was hit hard by the law. After all, how can a strip club operate legally when the law forbids any actual stripping to occur?That’s how ‘Art Night’ was born.The concept was simple; since the law only allowed public nudity in the case of serious artistic displays, customers could pay $15 for a sketch pad, a pencil and a ‘dance performance’. Several customer-made drawings were put on the walls of the club."We have a lot of people drawing some very good pictures,"Chris Teague, Owner of the Erotic City Strip Club (2005)[2]Teague said he first got the idea for Art Night when a customer came to the club one night, asking to enter the premises for free in order to sketch the dancers.Something tells me none of the customers’ nude sketches are likely to rival those of Picasso.Anyone Can Be The Governor of KansasIn November of 2018, Kansas held an election to decide who the newest Governor of Kansas was going to be.However, Kansas is the only state in the US with no gubernatorial statutory qualifications. Whereas other states have requirements such as age limits or local residency, Kansas has literally no requirements a candidate has to fulfill. The only requirement is that the candidate must be human, and even that’s only implied“No person may be elected to more than two successive terms as governor.”Constitution of the State of Kansas, Article 1: Executive [3]You know what that means?Literally anybody can run for Governor.Absolutely anyone. They don’t have to be 18 years old, nor is it explicitly stated that they have to live in the state. Which is why the 2018 Kansas Gubernatorial Election saw no[4] less[5] than[6] seven candidates under the age of eighteen, one of which[7] had never even stepped foot in the state of Kansas in their life.However, all of the teenaged candidates were eliminated in the primary elections for their respective parties, and Democratic candidate Laura Kelly was eventually elected to the position.How To Get Away With Murder (In Yellowstone National Park)The majority of Yellowstone National Park’s land area is within the state borders of Wyoming; however, small portions extend into both Montana and Idaho.However, the entirety of the park - including the bits in Montana and Idaho - fall under the jurisdiction of the District of Wyoming. While the Montana section of Yellowstone has a small population, the Idaho strip is completely uninhabited by humans. This is where the problem lies.Let’s say somebody decided to murder somebody else in the Idaho portion of Yellowstone. If caught, that person would be arrested and taken back to Wyoming for trial.However, the 6th Amendment of the Constitution dictates thatIn all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed[8]That means that the *alleged* murderer could exercise their constitutional right to be tried in the State of Idaho, where the crime was committed. A local jury would be called up; however, herein lies the next problem.[9]To be eligible for said jury, one mustLive in the state where the crime was committed (in this case, Idaho)Live in the District where the crime was committed (in this case, the District of Wyoming)The thing is, there is not a single person on earth who fulfils both of those criteria. The only territory to be both a part of the State of Idaho and the District of Wyoming is uninhabited, and residency there is forbidden by federal law[10].Perhaps a Venn Diagram will simplify thisIf there is nobody to fill up the jury at your trial, then you technically cannot be tried unless you allow them to try you in the State of Wyoming. Therefore, one could technically get away with murder in that small section of Yellowstone.Thankfully, this loophole has yet to be exploited.Footnotes[1] Stripper Art (or How To Find a Loophole)[2] 'Artful' strippers escape censure[3] https://www.kssos.org/other/pubs/KS_Constitution.pdf[4] https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article175956836.html[5] Fifth teen enters race for Kansas governor[6] https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article175956836.html[7] #KansasToTheMax: An App State Freshman runs for Kansas Governor[8] https://constitutioncenter.org/media/files/constitution.pdf[9] How you could get away with murder in Yellowstone’s “Zone of Death"[10] A Legal Loophole Might Let You Get Away With Murder In Yellowstone

You don’t need to be driving to be stopped by the police. (If you just want a simple answer, read no further.) One of my worst stops was while I was a pedestrian. I suppose I can complain about it now.I was in Kansas City, Kansas (≈2005 January) walking along Central Avenue near my house about midnight when it was bitter cold. I had a prescription Methadone pill in my pocket, which was legitimate, but it wasn’t in the labeled bottle. I was afraid, if searched, this could cause some time in jail. I, consequently, didn’t object to anything and cooperated as much as possible.To be complete, I should say that I’m a white male with no unusual clothing or hair style. I didn’t have any problem with the police at the time, and I didn’t have any recent contact with them. I was in my mid 50s when this occurred. It was such a traumatic experience, I don’t remember what the officer looked like, but I believe he was white too.The officer claimed he stopped me because I hesitated while I was walking across the street. This is true. My cell phone rang an alert, and I paused briefly to consider looking at it. But I didn’t look at it and continued walking. There was absolutely no traffic and I was crossing a side street which intersected with the larger Central Ave.The officer only checked my ID and asked where I was going (home, a block and a half away). He never did search me. He kept my ID the entire time.I don’t know why, but the officer made me stand in the cold for about 40 minutes. I thought I would freeze to unconsciousness, but I just closed my eyes and endured. (It was super cold and windy. That’s why I was the only person walking about.) After a point, I kind of went into a trance. I didn’t want to demand to leave. The officer sat in his car.I considered reaching into my pocket and taking the pill. This would have destroyed any possibility of it being used as evidence for, perhaps, Prescription Medication Not in a Labeled Container, which, indeed, is a law I am familiar with. But I thought better of it. Any movement on my part may cause him to get aggressive. I figured eventually he would have to release me if I did nothing. So I did nothing.A couple of times in my life, I’ve been beat up a little by the police. Once, when I was 15, they hit me several times in the stomach with a flashlight while I was handcuffed on the ground. The other times were brief mistreatments. I consider the keeping-me-in-the-cold as on par with or worse than the flashlight incident. I was young & strong during the flashlight incident, though.On another occasion, I was handcuffed far tighter than need be. That was pretty bad too.Cops have creative ways to torture their victims. They often do it in a way that doesn’t leave any clear evidence.Finally, he told me I could go. He said I shouldn’t stop for my phone anymore. This was said in a cruel joke type of tone. He knew I knew that that was just an excuse to stop me.