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Comment by simulator5g | Hacker News Reader

"land of the free" but its potentially illegal to pick up feathers off the ground

To be clear, not being allowed to possess the eggs, feathers or any other part of a protected species is probably a good thing? Not being able to pretend you “found them on the ground” is probably better stopped than the problem of children really finding things on the ground.

Laws based upon speculation that you may act dishonestly are wrong. I've seen lots of police statements about arrests and detentions where the officer basically says, "We didn't know that he was not going to do something illegal."

Putting somebody in a position where they have to prove a negative is plain wrong. The prosecution needs to prove a positive, unless you're in Plymouth, Massachusetts where the prosecutor is required to disprove all defense assertions about mental illness, or the jury will acquit.

I read about this story on Reason.com a few days ago. The mother is getting her law license and is now worried about the repercussions of her having a criminal record.

https://reason.com/2026/09/02/virginia-mom-gets-6-month-susp...

What's ridiculous is Canada Goose being in that category.

> Not being able to pretend you “found them on the ground” is probably better stopped than the problem of children really finding things on the ground.

Oh, I thought "Innocent until proven guilty" was concept known even in US, but apparently it didn't arrive there yet.

Woman fined $88K after kids collect clams from Pismo Beach

https://youtu.be/y2y5zCOcS-0?si=06doXuDb1ubfbI6s

Wait till you learn about proplifting...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proplifting

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