Mutant/S.P.B. Registration?

Heyja!

While it is easy to sympathize with our favourite heroes on this issue, how would you folks feel if you lived in a world of super powered beings and hi-tech wonders but were yourself just an average joe/jane?

We require people who own firearms to register those firearms and ondergo mandatory training and criminal background checks. If someone is well trained in martial arts and weaponary longstanding urban myth has it that they must register themselves as deadly weapons, for purposes of determining the nature/degree of any possible criminal charge. Thats hand guns, hunting rifles and fists!! And its to say nothing of automatic weapons, explosives, artillery, or nukes. We as "nations" don't allow just anyone to have this stuff, and in fact have deemd it a criminal offense for just any old person to be in possession of it.

So, why not super powers? I mean come on, its not a, ahem, "racial" issue. It an issue of deadly weapons. There has to be some kind of regulation and control, for the communities peace of mind if nothing else, and also a means of "disarming" those who have proven themselves unworthy of having such powers via displays of irresponsible use.

Would anyone honestly argue if faced with the real life possiblity?

For anyone interested in running an adventure
in an alternate future dealing with this topic,
feel free to use these resources.


NIGHTMARES OF FUTURES PAST

[tisiphone.dhs.org]

[home.comcast.net]

Perhaps I don't want my government to know I have firearms.
If I owned firearms , I would not have them registered.
If I could shoot bolts of energy from my hands , flesh dense enough to ignore bullets, and the ability to fly then I would not concede to registration either.
Too many touchy-feely liberals have restricted freedoms in my country. Too many paranoid bible-thumping conservatives have compounded the problem.

Now, if I knew you had firearms, I'd damn well want to make sure the government knew about them! We register cars, cats, and houses, so what kind of massive self-delusion is it that justifies hiding objects whose sole purpose is to violently punch lots of holes in things or people?

Anyway....
In the CHICAGO 2050 scenario, the government has The Bureau of ParaNormal Registration. My fledgling teenage superhero SkyBolt encountered them when, on his first night in costume, he's pulled over and ticketed for flying without a license. The officer explains that SkyBolt will need a BPR regristration to use his powers and, if he's going to be arresting evildoers, a Vigilante License. Then she clips a bracelet on him and explains that he has 24 hours to report to a BPR station for testing and registration. If he doesn't appear, the bracelet activates a homing signal and Omega cops come to escort him to the BPR. "Look, we don't want to know who you really are. That's not what we're interested in. We just need to know what powers you have and what you can do."
So the next day, SkyBolt slips out of his home early and heads to the BPR. A bored clerk takes his initial information-- costumed name, powers-- snaps a photo, and removes the bracelet. Then the tester, Dr. Reinstein, comes out and escorts SkyBolt to the section of the testing facility for Flyers and Psychokinetics. What follows seems like the Drivers License Test From Hell.
The Doc is a pretty friendly guy and, when he's explaining Skybolt's test results, gets to musing on the highest known evidence of ParaNorm strength, an unknown being who apparently limited the scope of WW3 by dragging missile subs out of the ocean and leaving them upside down on beaches. Whoever it was left human handprints.... Anyway, Doc thanks SkyBolt for his time and takes him back to the same bored clerk who hands him his PBR card. "Have the card with you any time you are using your powers. You're required to show the card to any police officer who requests to see it. If you fail to carry the card or refuse to comply, the Omega cops come looking for you. If you should undergo further power manifestaions or mutation, you're required to return here for further testing and classification. If you should fail to comply--"
"I know, the Omega Cops come looking for me."
"Good, kid. Now have a nice day."


















Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2005 08:25AM by DavidEMartin.

Okay. But the question assumes that you don't have any superpowers yourself. A few, perhaps many other people do, but not you. You're the guy whose car gets crushed, or whose house gets blown down, or whose granny is given a heartattack or whose entire communiuty gets vapourized, or whatever by these s.p.b.s -- whose mercy you're at even moreso than a bunch of, ahem, "liberals" -- and your insurance doesn't cover it.

It is a more complex matter than guns or martial arts.

Gun-wielders and blackbelts have a choice... they choose to carry a firearm (to defend themselves, hunt, whatever... to use it to increase their damage dealing capacity whatever the case)... or they choose to train hard to learn how to punch noses into people's brains or snap their backs like twigs etc. We... as a society (overall at least) are cool with that to a point. You want a handgun... fine. You want to break bricks with your hands... okay. But you've chosen to increase your lethality... and thats why you register your gun and your fists. You and a guy who just happens to be built like a house could possibly kill someone with your bare hands... but you're registered and he's not because you chose and trained to gain your capacity to do so... choices have consequenses. And while both of you would be liable for the choice that lead you to kill... only the one of you that trained to be capable of killing is liable for that choice too.

We don't register geniuses. Smart guys are dangerous. A guy with a gun could kill a few folks before the cops took him down... a genius could be serial killer or bomber that would take the police years to find. And if we started registering geniuses... would they also need controling factors... would they have to go to goverment run training facilities or otherwise be lobotomizied or given electroshock therapy until their IQ's were low enough to return them to normal society?

On the super-powered scale it gets worse... a kid is borne say... like the Human Torch... he has to be neutralized (euphanism here) or drugged or handed over to the government to become a living WMD? What the heck... being anti-that isn't being liberal... its being American. Imposing that sort of thing on person simply because of how they were born goes against every principle of... heck morality in general. It's not racism... its worse.

In my mind... I could see..

Registration - Yes. It probably end up being abused like in the X-Men comics... but thats a whole different issue.
Increased Penalty If They Commit A Crime With Powers - Only if they've trained to use their power as weapons.
Mandatory Government Enlistment/Training - Sadly... probably so... doesn't make it right.
Legal Ramifications For Causing Mayhem and Murder with Power - Same a if you caused mayhem and murder with a rocket launcher.

This is a matter of principal here. Registrations as I see it is what everyone says. Is it right? Yes, would it be used against people? Again Yes. If this were a world where people could be trusted than it wouldnt be neccessary or it wouldnt be abused. If it came to a vote I would not vote either way.

Live Fast, Live Hard and Play it Loud

I could see it as a public safety or public health issue. I'm not sure if such agencies still do this, but publuic health officials used to keep track of syphilus and gonnorhea sufferers in their locality. At the time there was no cure and such folks did present the potential of a threat to the overall health of the community. However, except in the cases of extremely callous individuals, the only further action taken was making sure these folks were not employed in jobs tha might spread the disease.

So as a public official in a world with superbeings, I'd want to know who in the community possessed abilities that might threaten the overal public health and safety. At the very least, I would do surveys of what powers were present in the local populace.
And as a public official, I'd do what I could to enroll those possessing superpowers in programs that would help them not be a danger to the public or to themselves.

If a kid is starting to shoot fireballs from his hands, it ain't doing anybody any good to let this kid keep his powers a secret. Not the kid, not his at-risk family, and not the neighborhood.

Freedom has a cost.

Unfortunately I don't own any unregisterd weapons. So you can stand down from dialing the Patriot Act hotline, comrade.

Here is a Champions article about using a superhero registration act.

[www.angelfire.com]

Here is an interesting question that a couple of responses have given rise to ...

If human beings cant be trusted to handle a spb registration without abusing it, as has been voiced, what makes anyone think that human beings could handle super powers without an equal or greater possibility of abuse?

It seems to me that if we are scared that a registration act might be abused by those in power, then we are missing the obvious about the inherent threat of rogue s.p.b.s to the wellbeing of the community.

IMO, how a person got their highly destructive and/or manipulative powers, be it by birth, accident or design, is entirely beside the point ... as a matter of obscurity if nothing else, ie. it would be very difficult to verify any such claims. A person might very well have experinmented on him/her-self as certainly as some genius freak might build a nuke in his basement; as opposed to discoverying a cure for cancer. What matters is the potential for harm and/or abuse, eg. invasion of privacy, that such powers represent.

I think that the comparison with genius' is interesting, but the capabilities of the genius are not as imminent as those of a spb. Of course, he Mr. Genius is caught with a a nuke in his basement, or a fusion generator for his hi-tech battle armour, or a vial containing some whacked out disease, he should be facing some criminal charges. In fact, isn't possession of such things as nukes, vials of ebola, military hardware, illegal for your average citizen?

So, that is the shortcoming with the comparison with genius as I see it. An interesting point neverthless though, along with glibness or tongue, charisma and good looks and social instincts, all of which could challenge psionic powers in terms of manipulation, save that your average person can guard against conmen, but doesn't stand a chance against a capable telepath.

I trust people more than groups... individuals are much more honest when they have only themselves to live up to... with noone watching... you simply are who you are... group mentality can kill personal morality like noone's business and worse... impose skewed group moralities that often include the "its alright so long as your doing it for us" clause. True megolomaniac individuals are few and far between... schmoes just doing what the system tells them to do are a dime a dozen.

On the genius thing...
Actually people have been caught with nuclear technology in the past... several minors actually... no A-Bombs (as in the Manhattan Project)... but several have made their own nuclear generators. One used pitchblend and radium he excavated from tons of old smoke detectors. He was caught when a team doing an unrelated environmental survey did the standard geiger check and was shock to find a reactor level reading coming from the trunk of the kids car. He didn't recieve any time... and is in fact... if I remember correctly... a nuclear sub engineer currently. Genius is dangerous... and subtle... had that survey not have happened by him... his entire neighborhood could have received fatal radiation poisoning... not to mention the kid had already figured out how to make a "cancer ray" with his equipment. A good half to two thirds of the true tactical geniuses on the planet are speculated to be recreational... they can plan out perfect kidnappings, assassinations, and bombings without ever even considering the real world applications.

Side note-- the Patriot Act is much loved by the same Neo-Conservatives who don't believe the government has any right to keep track of weapons. Interesting paradox-- They want people to have guns but they don't want them to have ideas.
Moderates and liberals, on the other hand, abhor pro-fascist acts like the so-called Patriot Act and equally abhor the unchecked spread of lethal weaponry in society. They want people to have ideas but not have guns.

So--

When was the last time the news reported a spree by a rampaging nutcase who spewed ideas all over his coworkers? Or a nutcase who climbed a clock tower with a high-powered megaphone and shouted ideas at people up to several blocks away? Ot a case of road rage when, after a collision between two cars, one driver harangued the other driver on Determinism?


;)

I can't get myself to respond in this thread as it is just a simply just a thinly veiled debate on the current state of rights in the world post 9/11.

I had a big long post here but had to delete as I do not wanna get into a deabte on politics and the curtaling of peoples rights due to fear.

Carry on as if this post wasn't here.

DG X(

Marvel > DC



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2005 11:24PM by Warlock.

Now really if someone had superpowers, He would be dissected to find out why. So I think Registration would be good for the whole but not the one.

As to real world politics the Patriot act is bogus plan and simple. I was a defender of this country (USA to the non Americans out there) I had seen it many times, That a person was denied leave to go visit a dying Grand parent in a Major Islamic country Ie Thailand. The only way he could get an approval was by the Pac Rim CG (Commanding General) For the Marine Corps that was a 4 Star. The military excuse was that it was for his safety. Come on dude was fluent in Thai was full Thai. I think he would blend in pretty damn well. But no. The real reason was he was Thai and a had a Muslim religion.

Also this Patriot act just doesn't view Gun ownership. They can go into you Home and check everything on you as a person just because another person started a rumor. That is extereme but the way it is set up it is highly probale that it could happen.

Just my opinion that act is very very bad. And I am a Republican. Come on they have harsher registrations on gun owners than Child sex offenders.

Just for the sake of clarity; I am a proud Canadian with no interest in American policies or "patriot" acts. This question has been kicking around my ol'noggin since I first started reading x-Men comics back in the early 80's.

So, this was never intended to be a thinnly veiled anything. It was meant to pose a frivolous question regarding a hypothetical situation. And resemblence to situations either past or present is purely coincidental and entirely unintentional.

:)

Thats cool I just wanted to vent about whats going on in my country. Really

ok if I was joe normal in a country where supers lived.
I would start looking at ways that I could balance the odds.
Analysing powers how they worked. How to neutralise them or minimise them with local day to day items..

It may not work but it would be a start.

I personally would want to find a way to gain powers, and to possibly give them to almost everyone, to level the playing field. But then again I have always been one to try to be as good as the best I run across. That is why I fought in toughmen contests in my 20s. BTW I had 72 matches with 67 wins. I also taught people I knew some, unorthodox, self defense techniques. I dont want to be better than everyone, I just want fairness, for myself and others.