Should violent and sex crimes laws and punishments be the same throughout the country

[ShyGuyInChicago]

Should something like this be up to each individual state to decide when punishments in one state can be harsher than in another state. I though of this when I read news coverage of Chelsea's Law which was passed in California and allows for life without parole for certain sex crimes against children and there were comments that laws like this should be passed all through out the country. I have been thinking about and considering this comment that a user on the new site left:

I agree with Kevin,, It doesn't make sense to me... How can someone do the same crime and get a lesser punishment then if they had done it in a different state,, when all the states are in the United States... I just don't get it..... I believe all laws and punishments should be the same through out the entire United States. If your breaking the law why does it matter what state your in,, your still breaking the law.... wrong is wrong no matter where you are...

There are some concerns about such a thing because the 10th amendment gives states powers that either the Federal government lacks or that is not forbidden to be done by the states.

[Amnesiac]

The United States already has a federal criminal code. (http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/usc.cgi?ACTION=BROWSE&title=18usc) It's up to the states to make those laws more specific. The federal government just provides a framework for such localized laws.

Every state is different, and their people want to handle problems differently. It's up to their governments to decide what's best for the state, and the 10th amendment protects that right.

[ShyGuyInChicago]

The United States already has a federal criminal code. (http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/usc.cgi?ACTION=BROWSE&title=18usc) It's up to the states to make those laws more specific. The federal government just provides a framework for such localized laws.

Every state is different, and their people want to handle problems differently. It's up to their governments to decide what's best for the state, and the 10th amendment protects that right.

I am not so sure if violent and sex crimes should necessarily be treated differently. I think most Americans want such crimes to be treated as seriously as possible.

[Amnesiac]

I am not so sure if violent and sex crimes should necessarily be treated differently. I think most Americans want such crimes to be treated as seriously as possible.

That's what the federal criminal code does. It outlines minimum sentences for almost every crime you can imagine.

[ShyGuyInChicago]

That's what the federal criminal code does. It outlines minimum sentences for almost every crime you can imagine.

Perhaps minimum sentences need to be longer.

[Amnesiac]

Perhaps minimum sentences need to be longer.

Then people concerned about it can lobby their state legislature. Congress doesn't have time to be caught up with every criminal problem in the nation. The criminal code lets states lengthen the punishments so that the federal government doesn't have to. It helps in situations where one state might have a dramatically higher crime rate than another.