So lets compare european and american laws...

[GinandTonic]

I thought gay marriages were legal in the UK, though it may be the civil union that was mentioned, I am not gay and thus haven't paid a lot of attention. I believe a gay partner is now entitled to the same rights as a hetrosexual partner in terms of state benefits, life insurance etc.

Also the requirement for companies to extend spouse perks to civil partners.

Prostitution is legal in the UK, however soliciting is not, and nor are brothels. Brothels were recently redefined as "more than two prostitutes", rather than "two or more", meaning that two girls can work from one premises.

Yeah, prostitution is legal in a private residence with only one prostitute. It is legal for the prostitute to have a "maid" but not a pimp.

You are legally allowed to consume alchol in the UK from the age of 5, with parental consent, however you may not purchase alchol until 18, unless you are also purchsing a meal in a restaurant, in which case you may purchse alcohol at the age of 16.

Also in a pub you can have a half or a glass of wine with food from 14, if bought by an adult.

The age of sexual consent is 16 for girls and unrestricted for boys.

Really? Why do women get prosicuted for fiddling with boys then? Why was there the fuss about reducing the age of homosexual consent from 18-16?

Firearms are almost illegal in the UK, I'm not sure of technicalities but you need a license which is hard to get, and it must be kept in a locked secure cabinet. Up until the mid 90s a gentleman (defined as being British, over 18, male, and literate) was allowed to carry a sword in urban areas, however after a spate of knife attacks fixed blades were banned. I suspect knights of the realm may still be able to carry a sword though I'm not certain.

Firearms licences are easy to get in the UK, so long as you want a shotgun and live on a farm with something worth hunting. Handgun licences are very hard to come by. Hunting rifle licences are vaguely doable, but there are not a lot of people who have enough land to keep a herd of deer.

In short to get a licence for a gun you need to show you have a need for that gun.

J-Walking is legal in the UK.

I find the whole deal with J-walking being illegial really bizare.

 

[VX250]

America has far better lores.

 

[LuckyAC]

Well, really, "liberal" mean a maximum of liberty/freedom or a minimum of government restrictions. For some reason, though, while that still holds true for social issues, now that is called "conservative" economically, while "liberal" now means LESS economic liberty.

The US has more economic freedom than any European country (though less than some cantons of Switzerland), but, in general, less social freedom, but the latter varies more.

 

[Perfection]

I've heard that murder is illegal in most nations of Europe.

What's up with that?

 

[Winner]

Well, really, "liberal" mean a maximum of liberty/freedom or a minimum of government restrictions. For some reason, though, while that still holds true for social issues, now that is called "conservative" economically, while "liberal" now means LESS economic liberty.

The US has more economic freedom than any European country (though less than some cantons of Switzerland), but, in general, less social freedom, but the latter varies more.

Umm... Monaco? Ireland? Luxembourg? Estonia?

It is true that most European countries value the social equality more than the US though.

 

[PrinceOfLeigh]

I've heard that murder is illegal in most nations of Europe.

What's up with that?

Ppphft, I'd rather Murder be legal and pay less in tax

 

[Phlegmak]

Xanikk999, you should have included how lawsuits are different between the different nations.

America has far better lores.

What do you mean? Myths and popular traditional stories?

 

[Grisu]

Switzerland seems to be pretty in line with the rest of europe in these regards:

Firearms: regulated but legal, it's not hard getting a legal firearm here (I guess that's were we differ stronger from our neighbours)

Gay marriage:
Civil unions that basically give the same rights as marriage (except adoption)

Abortion:
Legal until 12th week, after that only for medical reasons

Prostitution:
legal, though street-prostitution is illegal

Drugs:
MaryJ is officially illegal, but not enforced. There's a popular initiative in the pipes to legalize it.
Alcohol is basically the same as all over mainland Europe (16 for Beer/Wine, 18 for spirits).

Freedom of speech:
I guess you could say that we're less liberal than the US here, since we do ban certain parts of speech (anti-racism law, for instance).

 

[Grisu]

oh yeah, and technically tax evasion is not considered a crime in Switzerland. if you get caught, you merely pay back-taxes plus interest (that's one of the reason why the EU is a bit pissed off with us )

 

[Verbose]

I always hear that Europe is way more liberal then the U.S, and i agree.

But how liberal?

These are questions, since i dont know the answers:

How many and which european countries allow gay marriage.

What is the norm stance for abortion in law for most european countries, is it allowed at any stage?

Are drugs like Marajuana or crack illegal in any european countries? I only know of Holland making it legal sorry...

These are all the questions i can think of right now. But overall are there some ways europe is LESS liberal then the U.S?

You might have included whether prositution is legal or not.

Afaik it's legal in most of Europe, including Sweden. Sweden is however peculiar since while selling sex is legal, buying it is not.

Besides Europe does allow a pretty wide variety of national legilsation. And it's a matter of how laws are applied as well.

Europeans often shake their head at US lawsuits.

There are distinctly different traditions re. what's considered legal and political problems too. Something Europeans consider purely political can be treated as something to be settled in court in the US.

 

[Donny]

You can't really compare a country to a continent but I think in general it's fair to say:

America is more conservative on the moral issues but there is more freedom on the economic things. (not always good, polution-wise) Basically, I get the feeling, in America freedom=money, while there are some things you'll never get away with, luckily.

In Europe, people are better protected against their own stupidity but given more freedom in ethical stuff. In general, it's a softer system where you don't end up in the gutter easily but as a result, the working people pay more taxes. In Europe they try to make a complete law system where everything is regulated, whereas in America there's more of a cowboy mentality. (well if people are really suing each other for the reasons I heard, and win, it may have gone a bit too far imo)