1.2

• Examples of law changes in cultures?

  Polygamy

  Homosexuality

  Cannabis
• example of laws changing over time?

  Homosexuality

  Gun control laws

  Physical punishment
• how are laws applied differently?

  moral panic

  typification

  age of criminal responsibility

  homocide
• why do polygamy laws vary in different cultures?


  Religion is the main reason for variations of attitude to occur.

  In the UK, our laws are very influenced by Christianity as the legal system and religion used to be intertwined.

  In Mayalysia, the country is predominately Muslim and Islam. This has a large influence on the law making process as in the Qur’an states a man can have up to 4 wives.

  People in different societies may practise polygamy as part of their tradition, so their attitudes will differ.
• Why does homosexuality laws differ in cultures?

  Religion is one reason as why there is so much variation.

  In Uganda, laws criminalise homosexuality due to their country having strict Christian views, with 4/5 people in their population being Christian. The bible itself speaks of homosexuality being sinful and immoral.

  In the UK, homosexuality is not criminalised due to the publics opinions and views in society. We believe people should be free to express themselves with no discrimination.
• why do cannabis laws vary in different cultures?

  The norms and values of drugs in country’s can influence the legality of it in cultures.

  In the UK, possession of cannabis can result in a custodial sentence of up to 5 years and can increase to 14 years if caught selling to others.

  In Canada, cannabis is legal for both recreational and medicinal purposes. This society promotes the idea that people should have freedom of choice. The consumption of cannabis in Canada has increased from 25% of the population in 2021 to 27% in 2022.
• why have homosexuality laws changed over time?

  Wolfenden Report -> created committee in 1950s to influence law-makers into legalising homosexuality as the number of men jailed for being homosexual had dramatically increased. This helped lead to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967.

  campaigns -> campaigns like The Homosexual Law Reform Society and pressure groups like Stonewall helped make further changes around homosexuality.

  Human Rights -> members of society wanted freedom to be who they wanted to be with no discrimination.
• why have gun laws changed over time?


  Public outcry -> in 1996, Dunblane Primary School in Scotland suffered a mass shooting resulting in 17 killed and 16 injured by Thomas Hamilton. This mass shooting caused a huge disruption in society as people were shocked and angry. They wanted change and soon campaigns started forming (Snowdrop campaign was led by families of those who were killed in the primary school). these were successful in influencing law-makers to change the law in 1997 and create the Firearms Amendment Act.
• why have physical punishment laws changed over time?

  Societal values and understanding of human rights have evolved.

  Human rights -> everyone has the right to life, meaning capital punishment is n longer appropriate.

  Miscarriage of justice -> if someone is found to be innocent for doing something they did not do, it is too late as capital punishment and corporal punishment are irreversible.
• moral panic?

  -behaviour shocks and disrupts society

  -convictions result in being harsher than usual

  example: 2011 riots, people were behaving antisocially towards each other so harsher punishments were set. For youth courts, custodial sentences were given to 32% of those convicted compared to 5% of the same charge in 2010.
• typification?

  -police may intentionally or unintentionally treat different groups of people different.

  -Aaron Circourel, a sociologist, claimed that people in the policing system hold their own stereotypes of what a typical offender looks like to them.

  example: investigated how police responded to a middle-class group (saints) and a working-class group (roughnecks). Roughnecks were less favourable and police were more suspicious of them compared to the Saints. Overall, the roughnecks were more severely sanctioned than the saints despite committing the same crime.
• age of criminal responsibility?

  -children are not deemed criminally responsible until the age of 10 in England

  -cannot be convicted the same way as an adult as children do not have the full mental capacity.

  example: 1993, two 10-year-old boys (Robert Thompson and Jon Venables) abducted, tortured and murdered two-year-old James Patrick Bulger. the boys were sentenced with an indefinite sentence in juvenile detention.
• Homicide?

  -some cases where a person has murdered someone, the Homicide Ac 1957 states there are some conditions where the offender can plead not guilty.

  example: diminished responsibility, a murder can change to manslaughter if offender does not have full mental capacity. Another condition is if the offender s identified as having a loss of control meaning the offender was not in control of their own thoughts or behaviours at the time of the crime.