Skateboarding should be banned

Pro's contentions: Contention 1: Skateboarding is linked with vandalism. Rebuttal of Contention 1: Kids will vandalize anyway Skateboarding can definitely be associated with vandalism in the ways you described. I would argue, however, that it is not the skateboarding itself that is responsible for the vandalism. It is the teens that do it. When I was your age, I used to do a lot of stuff. My favorite was shoplifting at the local stores. I also enjoyed spray painting my "tag-name" everywhere I could, throwing objects at passing cars and running away, throwing rocks at and destroying any sort of public property I could find, killing small animals (especially frogs) in the woods... The list goes on. Unfortunately, kids are just high maintenance. I was probably one of the worse ones, because I had "bad" friends, but the point remains that kids get a kick out of causing trouble. I remember shoplifting the most vividly. That nervous feeling as I rip off the security tag, that mounting paranoia as I step out the door and I don't know if there is a burly security guard on my tail ready to nab me or an alarm ready to go off, and then that monumental rush of excitement as I get out with my prize into the real world and scamper off on my bicycle... You can't ban the feeling of excitement that kids are seeking by causing trouble; kids are going to do these things because they are kids; not because they have access to a skateboard, or rocks to throw at things, or cans of spray paint, etc. Banning everything a kid can use to cause trouble is ridiculous. Many kids enjoy skateboards responsibly (for example at skating parks) and these kids would be stripped of civil liberties that they have no right being stripped of. The children that use it irresponsibly will invariably find some other way to cause entropy to their surrounding environment. Contention 2: Skateboarding is dangerous. Rebuttal of Contention 2: Slippery slope argument Would you really consider banning everything that is dangerous? This is a pretty steep slippery slope. One that leads to absolute tyranny, among other things! Imagine a country where the government says "you are forbidden to engage in that activity; it is dangerous". Might as well ban rock climbing, roller skating, bicycling, walking outside with no shoes, running in the recess yard... You can't "protect" children this way. Children need to be guided by a responsible adult to make it through life and survive. Every person has the chance of getting hurt doing an infinite number of things, and trying to find and ban them all is not sound. Only proper upbringing and supervision by parents is going to save children from the inescapable hazards of human life. If the parent makes the call that "my child will not skateboard" then that is up to the parent; you have no right to make that decision for them. My contentions: Contention 3: Abridgment of civil liberties This ban would go against everything this country stands for. Our civil liberties are very important, and such a careless abridgment would be incomprehensible. If we aren't allowed to have a piece of wood with four wheels on it, what other rights do we stand to lose? Contention 4: Skateboarding is a generally positive activity, with only a marginal chance for being abused. There would have to be a MAJOR reason to ban an activity like this. The chance to scrape your knee is not a major reason. The chance to vandalize property is not a major reason. If these were major reasons, then there would be an incomprehensibly huge list of items that would need to be banned, including everything from hammers, knives and bicycles, to spray paint cans, toilet paper (in Wisconsin the high school kids have this thing where they "TP" peoples houses; they throw rolls of toilet paper up into the trees in front of your house and it is almost impossible to get it all down without a mess, especially if it gets wet) and anything that can be used as a projectile and cause damage. Guns are not banned, yet they are FAR more dangerous than skateboards, and offer much less of a general way to be used recreationally. Contention 5: Injustice to skateboard manufacturers and distributors. There is an entire industry set up around skateboarding. This industry includes local manufacturers who deal exclusively with skateboard production, some of which have only tiny skateboard shops. The businesses involved would be crippled and forced out of business overnight if your law went through. We have a local shop here in Green Bay called "Surfin Bird" that makes most of its profits off of skateboard sales. I would wonder what the employees there would have to say about your proposition. Countless retail stores also sell skateboards, and would also be adversely affected. Contention 6: Injustice to professional and amateur enthusiasts. There are lots of people who consider skateboarding a major hobby of theirs. Responsible adults who are well informed of the risks of using a board and have accepted them a long time ago (in fact the risk is almost surely part of the fun). I would like you to consider what a conversation with one of these people might be like for you, as you contemplate your ban. Would you be able to look the skateboarder in the eye when you told him or her about your idea? Would you even have the gaul to approach them? Contention 7: Injustice to the diversity of the country. Our country is a melting pot of different cultures, ideas, activities, etc. We are such a great country, for the most part, because of the liberties we enjoy as citizens and the diversity of the activities we engage in. The mosaic which is America would lose one of its facets if your ban was a reality, and it would be a very sad day in the history of the country. Contention 8: Enforcement would be a disaster. How would you enforce this ban? Would you have officers on the street arresting skateboarders? Would you have the officers giving tickets to parents who are walking beside their children on skateboards? If an officer finds a skateboard in someone's car while searching it, would they be subject to confiscation and a fine? Would this be a federal ban that bans skateboards across the country, or are we going to just keep it legal in Nevada like prostitution and make them travel there to do it? Are you proposing to set up skateboarding rehabilitation centers to help people who can't kick the habit? Will they get unemployment benefits if they can show they are addicted and can't perform their basic job functions? Contention 9: More danger would come from banning skateboarding then letting it stay legal. People who wish to dodge the ban (I doubt you would even try to argue that there wouldn't be untold thousands of individuals that would) would have to rely on home-made skateboards which are much more unsafe then professionally made ones. This would increase injuries. Contention 10: A skateboard underground would form after this ban was passed. People who already skateboard would most likely not stop after this ban. They would be forced into hiding, much as modern recreational drug users are now. They would continue to skate despite the ban, and risk their freedoms as human beings if they are caught. We are talking about their most basic freedoms here, my friend. The freedom not to be put in a cage like an animal, for one. Many of them would probably not ever stop, even after being caught several times, and end up in jail. People who otherwise would never know what the inside of a cell looks like would be rotting inside a steel prison if you have your way. It costs roughly $22,000 a year (Bureau of Justice Statistics) to house criminals in jails, and this would add to the already overpopulated situation we have today with detention centers. 1) http://www.ojp.gov...