# What would you do if there was general amnesty from all laws for a day? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 2, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647 "2005-01-02T04:02:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/1 "2005-01-02T04:02:12Z")
It is announced that March 15th will be a day of amnesty for all illegal offenses in your state and the U.S. in general. You can do whatever you want on that day with no legal repercussions for that day and that day only? What would you plan and do? Me? I would slowly kill one person that I have in mind and then quickly head back to my house to protect my family from the hoards of other people that also have the same protection. I may set up some traps and shoot looters or whoever else shows up. What would you do on this dat of freedom? ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/2 "2005-01-02T04:11:23Z")
If I couldn’t get out of the country, I’d at least spend the day cowering at home. I’m sure I’ve pissed off plenty of people. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/3 "2005-01-02T04:15:46Z")
> [@Fionn](#): > > If I couldn’t get out of the country, I’d at least spend the day cowering at home. I’m sure I’ve pissed off plenty of people. I was gonna say hide on general principle. Even ignoring the people I’ve pissed off, there’s gotta be someone so pissed off at the world that s/he unleashes something heinous. ---
**Author:** ![Spongemom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spongemom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spongemom)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/4 "2005-01-02T04:19:39Z")
I’d be getting quite a bit of free stuff from Wal-Mart. Quite a bit. Oh yeah. Not that I’m a shop-lifter or anything. Just, no laws and all, yeah, lots of free stuff. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/5 "2005-01-02T04:21:36Z")
What would I do with this “freedom”? Nothing. My own conscience is a far sterner brake on my behavior than any fear of punishment. I suspect that the majority of people are the same. Social order can only exist when most people consent to it without coercion. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/6 "2005-01-02T04:35:29Z")
Gotta go with hiding. Going into a public place under such circumstances would be asking to be assaulted and/or raped. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/7 "2005-01-02T04:37:55Z")
> [@Pochacco](#): > > What would I do with this “freedom”? > > Nothing. > > My own conscience is a far sterner brake on my behavior than any fear of punishment. I suspect that the majority of people are the same. Social order can only exist when most people consent to it without coercion. I agree. Oh sure, there are a dozen things I could _say_ I’d do. Fill up a U-Haul at the bookstore and bring it home… have a few people mailed to Siberia in dog cages… But I wouldn’t feel right doing any of it, so I’d probably just end up sitting here and watching a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/8 "2005-01-02T04:42:08Z")
Kill someone who deserves it. ---
**Author:** ![Roadwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Roadwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadwalker)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/9 "2005-01-02T05:13:08Z")
I would drive real fast on the freeway. In a stolen [Caterpillar 777](http://artzia.com/Gallery/Photos/Photo.net/caterpillar-mining-truck-3.3.html) ---
**Author:** ![Insomniactress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/91b2a8/32.png) [@Insomniactress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Insomniactress)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/10 "2005-01-02T05:13:46Z")
I think I’m more disturbed by the implication that the only reason some of us _haven’t_ killed already, is simply because it’s against the law. That, to me, is terrifying. Exactly what are the criteria for deciding who “deserves” to be killed, just out of interest? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/11 "2005-01-02T05:36:51Z")
There’s plenty I would do without any laws, because there’s plenty I don’t do simply because of the fear of reprisal from the law. I agree that my own conscience is what prevents me from breaking _most_ laws, but I don’t agree with all laws. First, I’d stock up on marijuana. Ideally I could simply call the DEA and ask for some of the truckloads of kind green they’d seized in the immediately past. Second, I’d go test drive a high end sports car (or two) on a deserted stretch of highway and see how fast I could get it up to. Since there are no laws, I might spend the entire afternoon doing this with a dozen buddies, taking turns driving and blocking traffic. There are other, more insidious (but none violent) acts of mischief I might consider, but in all likelihood I wouldn’t feel right about it and decide to just chill out on the couch after a long day drag racing. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/12 "2005-01-02T14:17:53Z")
I’d watch the reality show that would air that day that chronicles OJ Simpson running from vigilantes. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/13 "2005-01-02T14:53:21Z")
I would just stay in the house until the day was over. I don’t want to be involved in riots, robberies, gunfights, stabbings, or anything else. I have enough sick days to get away with it. Let everyone else go crazy. The following weekend I WOULD hit all the yard sales though 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/14 "2005-01-02T15:15:25Z")
[hijack] Anyone recall that recently CA Gubn’r Arnold singed into law a bill making necrophilia illegal? One of those “you mean it isn’t already?” moments. Jay Leno had a great line about it. "I wonder how many people here in California that have been having sex with dead people are going to stop now that _its against the law?_ [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/15 "2005-01-02T15:41:55Z")
Hide. If you remember the pictures of the L.A. riots, there would be nothing else you would do. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/16 "2005-01-02T15:48:10Z")
I’d head over to **Ellis Dee** ’s, where we could spend a lovely Amsterdam-style morning enjoying ourselves with a buffet of green. While s/he’s off drag racing, I’d do a lot of baking and perhaps a few lab experiments before we retire to the couch for an evening of \*extremely \*funny movies. Mental note: bring lots of Mountain Dew and munchies. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/17 "2005-01-02T16:46:44Z")
I may drive really fast to work, but that’s about it. I don’t commit crimes because I might get in trouble. I don’t commit crimes because they’re against my moral code. Amnesty has nothing to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/18 "2005-01-02T19:16:17Z")
Are people forgetting that this is just one day? You could go around killing people, but the next day the laws will be back. Sure, you wouldn’t get in legal trouble, but if anyone saw you murdering people then you’d still have to deal with that sort of thing on a social level. Would your friends be able look at you the same way if they saw you offing people for fun? Would you be able to use all that new stuff you stole without a guilty conscience? People going around killing just because they _can_ is the reason the world is in such a mess right now. If this power was granted not just to insane dictators but to _everyone_ then I’m going to be inside curled up in a fetal position. If things looked safe outside, however, I might make a stop at the supermarket for some, _ahem_, cheap food. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/19 "2005-01-02T20:35:43Z")
> [@Spongemom](#): > > I’d be getting quite a bit of free stuff from Wal-Mart. Your Wal-Mart plans to stay open that day? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647/20 "2005-01-02T20:49:12Z")
Hide. Either than or jaywalk _a lot_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-there-was-general-amnesty-from-all-laws-for-a-day/282647.md?page=2)