08/23 Game: The Great Debaters

[Starfish]

Timeline on March 18th.


Jason: Jason picked up a newspaper from the stack, flipping through it rather than paying attention to the rest of the class. There was always something interesting in newspapers, after all. Even back home he would peruse the arrest records to see if anyone needed any congratulations.

Eve: Eve sat back in his chair and ran the arguements through his head, making mental tallies on points for an against deciding on which way to debate.

Alex: All bound into his own little world, Alex sitting in front of a whole stack of funnies which he had gotten out of the newspapers and was now reading eagerly, only interrupted by a little chuckle from time t time.

Cessily: Cessily spread the stack of newspapers that the teachers had provided out on the table. "My, I think this should be enough," she remarked, leaning on the table as she looked between the others. "Alright, so, how do we want to go about this? I guess the first thing we need to do is decide on sides, right?"

Meggan: Meggan looked up from reading an article about, remarkably, the topic she was supposed to be reading about. "I don't mind being for the argument... I sort of am.. I don't know... it's very confusing..." she frowned down at the paper again.

Cessily: "That's how we always did it in my highschool, at least." She picked up the note with the assignment. "Right, we are to split up in a pro and a contra group, and then hold a discussion about the MRA. That's pretty much it."

Jason: "Hmm?" Jason looked up from his paper. What were they supposed to be doing again? Oh, right. Debates. "I suppose I could play at Devil's Advocate."

Cessily: She ran a hand through her hair, looking across the table. "Okay, that's good. I guess if we can find a way to split evenly into two groups, we should be fine. The note says that if we can't decide, we should assign the sides randomly." She chuckled. "Okay, so, volunteers for the pro side?"

Alex: "Teehee, Hobbes is wearing a dress...Huh?" Looking up with blinking eyes he tried to do like a Ferrari and bring his mind from zero to the speed of the discussion in under three seconds.

Eve: "Then guess I'll step up for the con side." Eve said after finishing his mental tally.

Meggan: Meggan giggled at Alex and folded her paper back, "I'll go either way, but I imagine it;ll be harder to find people for the Pro side..."

Jason: "Don't have to agree with the side in order to do this. Makes it more fun."

Cessily: "Okay, so we have Meggan and Jason for pro, and Eve for con," Cessily said, quickly scribbling things down on the note. "Anyone else? Alex?"

Jason: Mind, Jason doubted there was going to be much fun offered with this assignment.

Alex: oh crap, this was hard. He wanted to be on contra, but he didn't want to go up against his fiancée...Alex looked helplessly around at all of the people.

Alex: "I...don't know?"

Cessily: "Well, Alex can play the part of the silent majority that doesn't have a clear opinion," Cessily tossed in with a grin.

Meggan: Meggan smiled at Alex, "You can pick whichever side you like," she told him, "I promise not to hold it against you."

Alex: "Thank you hunny, but..." He shrugged appologetically. "I just don't know really. I think I'm rather contra, but maybe it could be good too...?"

Jason: "Dear God, it's a class assignment. Flip a coin or something."

Cessily: "Contro it is then," Cessily asked Alex with a smile. "That would make two on each side so far. Jason and Meggan on pro, Eve and Alex on contra. Leaving me to decide..."

Meggan: Meggan patted Alex gentley, "That's how I feel..."

Cessily: "Well, I guess I'll simply go ahead with Jason's suggestion and do the coin tossing thing to decide. It's the only way to make this fair, I guess." Cessily rummaged through her pockets for some spare change.

Cessily: "Alright, head is pro, tails is contra," Cessily announced as she finally found a single coin in the depths of her pockets. She tossed the coin, caught it, then looked at the result. "Yeah, right, as if we didn't know it already." She sighed and flopped down on her chair. "Looks like I'm going to be on the pro-side."

Alex: "Uhm, no..." But before he could continue Cessily had already thrown the coin. "So, it's me and Eve against the rest?" His comrade got a doubting look.

Cessily: She tried to see it from the positive side. This way, she would at least have the opportunity to take a look at how the opposing side ticked.

Jason: "I hope you find the dark side suitable." Jason smirked as a welcome to his 'team mate' before looking down at his paper again. "So who feels like starting this off?"

Cessily: "Well, we are five people, so it's always going to be two against three."

Eve: "No worries Alex, we got this." Eve smiled and started to gather some newspapers, and pulled out the note book he'd been keeping on the MRA.

Meggan: Meggan turned back to reading her article and her frown deepened.

Alex: "Okay?..." Contend Eve was kinda settling...and worrying.

Alex: "Any way I can help? Searching for stuff maybe?"

Cessily: "Well, Professor Xavier said that this is not about winning, but about getting an understanding for the other sides position," Cessily recited what she remembered from the previous lecture. "So, I guess it makes sense to do it this way. Kinda."

Jason: "Are we completely certain he wasn't talking in his sleep?"

Cessily: She looked around. "I guess we could just start by making a argument that supports your side. That should get a discussion rolling just fine."

Eve: "You guys can go first then. Bigger team and all." Eve opened up to a blank page to take notes as they talked.

Meggan: Meggan looked up, "I'll make an argument."

Alex: He let his eyes wander over his opponents. Cessily would be the hardest, she was kind of a political thinker. Maybe they needed to ambush her and overthrow her from behind?

Meggan: "There are a lot of dangerous mutants out there, and I don't exclude myself from that, it would be a good thing to keep tabs on the ones that don't make an effort not to harm others with their powers."

Alex: "Oh, good one!" He couldn't help to applaude the opposition because it was Meggan.

Jason: Jason's eyes were already itching to roll. It couldn't just be him that found Meggan and Alex a bit sickening, right?

Eve: "Counter point. What about mutants with no abnormal potential to harm others. Take Ty for example. He is more likely to be harmed by a normal human than the other way around." Eve spoke clearly and calmly.

Cessily: "That's a good argument, Megs," Cessily remarked with a smile at her. She still had to get over her deeply rooted political beliefs in order to think of something for the pro-side.

Alex: "That was a nice one too, Eve!" His teammate received a thumbs up.

Cessily: "Yes, but wouldn't that be problematic, as well," she tossed in. "I mean, you would have to test every single mutant to see how their powers worked and if they're potentially deadly. Who decides which ones get registered or not? The only fair way to go about this is either everyone, or none."

Meggan: "Then he has nothing to fear by registering. I don't think there's much reason not to register if we've nothing to hide...." Meggan ignored the voice in the back of her head that had lately been persistant in reminding her what she did have to hide.

Cessily: "Right, and this way, you don't have to undergo extensive testing or monitoring to register. You simply sign up and that's it. It's fair for everyone." Cessily almost cringed at her own words.

Alex: "Oh, Cessily makes a good point..." He sunk into deep thought about what she had said. There was wisdom in her words.

Jason: "Well, in that case wouldn't Ty's unique situation need to be known in order to protect him as well? Being as we're a relatively new minority legislation has to be rewritten with us in mind." Jason found himself doodling on the edge of his newspaper as he swallowed the con side he would generally tack onto his less than sincere comment.

Eve: "But why should he have to? Do you have to register because you are blonde or brunette? Just because he is born a mutant and others arn't?"

Meggan: "Being blonde or brunette doesn't make you potentially harmful to others. It's just like owning a weapon - youhave to register for that..."

Alex: "There you go, Meggie!" His fist jumped up to cheer her on...stopping midway when he remembered that she was in the other team. "Errrrmmmm..."

Cessily: "No, but you also can't cause massive damage with brunette or blonde hair." She frowned. "Well, if you have a really terrible mullet perhaps. But as Meggan said, mutants aren't just different on the outside. They have abilities. Some of them as dangerous as a weapon. And as far as I know, you still have to register if you want to possess weapons."

Eve: "And Ty's situation would be covered by normal handicap legislation. There is no need to tack on anything else to it." He listened as others spoke up, "Well, that's debateable Meggan..." He smiled, "Yes you do have to register for a firearm, and to drive a car, another potentially dangerous weapon."

Jason: "But expand that beyond Ty to other mutants that might not be a danger but still should register. They aren't exactly handicapped. It's a grey area."

Eve: "But not all mutants have abilities. Some are just different. And I've got another area for you to think about."

Meggan: "Yeah but if mutants with non dangerous abilities didn't have to register then all the rest would be jealous. It's better that everyone has to to avoid all that messy stuff."

Eve: "If the legislation doesn't apply to all mutants, then why would it even be needed?"

Eve: "It would be better to leave the good ones alone, and go after ones that hurt people, than to anger an entire population for the deeds of a bad apple."

Meggan: "And again I say, It's better that everyone has to register to divide out potential threats."

Alex: "Eve is right." He figured he should finally join this debate. "Doesn't the registration of all mutants put us under ah, uh, general suspicion?"

Eve: "You know you have to register as a mutant to get married right?" He looked at Meggan. "If you get married in this country, it will be public knowlege that the 2 of you are mutants."

Cessily: "But that's the point, it's supposed to apply to all mutants," Cessily countered. "Simply because none of us can be sure about how their powers might still develop. So it's fair that everyone registers. Besides, you can't really afford to wait until a mutant did something wrong. Considering some of our powers, it might be too late to act then."

Cessily: "And you know how people are. If something bad happens, everyone is gonna ask why they didn't do something about it beforehand if they knew about the danger."

Meggan: "We're not getting married here," Meggan told Eve, "But even if we were it wouldn't make a difference to me. I'm quite happy for people to know what I am. I'm not ashamed of it."

Eve: "What if a "Normal human" develops powers later in life? What would happen to them?"

Moon: Moon walked in, late to class again. This seemed to be something she was getting into the habit of, and it had to stop soon. It's hard to keep track of the day when you don't sleep, it's all one big long waking moment.

Alex: "But Cess, isn't that the whole principle of justice?" He scratched his head. "You can't treat people differently because they might become dangerous, right? Applying this concept to us would make us...secondary citizens?"

Moon: "Sorry everyone!" She squeaked as she snuck in.

Jason: "But 'supposedly' this isn't supposed to be just about us being dangerous. It's also supposed to be for our benefits as well to understand the nature of what exactly we are and what we can do."

Cessily: "Oh, hey Moon!" Cessily waved at her. "Take a seat please. No worries, we've just started."

Eve: "Agreed Alex, we used to have legislation in this country like what is trying to get passed now. It applied to blacks and to women for longer than it hasn't. Would that be acceptable now?"

Cessily: "And, I guess you'll have to join Eve and Alex on the side that's contra the MRA, because we're already three on the pro side. Is that okay for you?"

Meggan: "Exactly," Meggan said to Jason, "I for one wish that this wasn't the only place we could learn about what we can do. Not everyone can get here so it might be a good idea for the government to put things in place for other mutants to understand and control their abilities."

Eve: "You know segragation is illegal in this country, they can't do that."

Moon: "Hell yeah I'm down with that." Moon said as she took her place.

Jason: Jason was slightly alarmed that anyone was agreeing with him when he was using his extra sarcasm and all but holding back on breaking out the airquotes as well.

Eve: "The government can't anyway, the only reason Xavier's works is that it's a private school."

Cessily: "Sweet," Cessily replied and smiled at her. "Just jump right in to it. As you can see, we're already quite busy."

Meggan: "Why wouldn't it work if the government helped out?" Meggan couldn't see how that would be a problem.

Alex: "The government might try to put mutants to a national use, hun, maybe like weapons in the war against Terror?"

Eve: "Because you can't have seperate and different things set up to discriminate against a minority. Before the 60's African-Americans had to go to different schools than white students. This would be the same as then."

Moon: "If something like this is for our benefit, and it's the governments job to help us, we also have to remember it's their job to 'protect' people from us, if they feel the need to. Their job is to protect the freedoms of this country and if we come off as dangerous, that's a problem."

Moon: "And anything you don't understand is always, always called dangerous."

Cessily: Cessily wanted to completely agree with what Eve said, but she was stuck on the pro side, and so inwardly sighed.

Eve: "Moon... do you understand which side your on?" Eve smiled for a second.

Moon: Moon smiled back. "Oh yes."

Meggan: "They can't force us to go to wars, that would be silly," Meggan told Alex, "And I don't think this registration thing is discrimination. they're not saying we can't go to public schools or anything. The 'normal' people are going to discriminate against us regardless of whether or not we've registered."

Eve: "Ok... but just so you know con side, means your against the act..." Eve shook his head.

Moon: "That's what I'm saying. If they think they need to protect themselves from us, that's something that needs to change."

Jason: "And how exactly can that be changed?"

Moon: "A registration act will only further that anger. Or confusion. Or fear."

Cessily: "But who said that mutants will be treated differently after they have registered," Cessily pointed out. "It's not like we're going to have to wear a yellow star on our jackets to show that we're mutants. Only the government will know and keep the information. They didn't say that we have to go to different schools and such things."

Jason: "Are we going to roll up a newspaper and smack them on the nose going 'Bad humans, love us!'?"

Moon: "Stand up?" Moon offered. "Show people we're not evil kremlins out to take their poor republican souls?"

Alex: "But if we don't want to do our 'duty' there might be persecusions. Like, fees and all for your family!"

Eve: "Meggan, they arn't saying we can't go to public schools "Yet", they have already stated that they will look into if we can marry, or vote, or anything else. If we are deemed not human, most our rights will be forfiet."

Moon: "What was that thing about death certificates again?" Moon asked. "I remember someone telling me about that and I just cracked up."

Meggan: "They haven't decided anything yet, they might decide to just leave it at the registration."

Eve: "Cess, it's only a matter of time before the knowlege becomes public domain. It will be like looking up a sex offender in your neighborhood."

Jason: Jason tried to keep his most rigid straight face on as he replied to Moon. "Well, obviously if you are a registered mutant who happens to die they'll not allow them to be buried and the body will automatically be probed in the name of science, not fear, never fear." Okay, he couldn't keep his voice completely serious.

Moon: "Except, unlike sexual offenders, we didn't actually do anything."

Eve: "Then why register?"

Alex: He nodded eagerly at Eve's point. "And even worse, if we can be looked up the same way as a sex offender, won't people draw out connections?"

Moon: "I'd like to see them come and probe me..." Moon muttered.

Cessily: "What about those who don't have a choice whether such knowledge becomes public domain," Cessily demanded to know, crossing her arms. "It's not like obvious mutants like me would have any choice. MRA or not. Everyone knows we're different, while the normal looking mutants get to decide whether they want to reveal themselves, or lead perfectly normal lives."

Meggan: "If we refuse to register it'll look like we have somehting to hide and make us look more dangerous. I think it's better to just register and be done with it. If we have nothing to hide we have nothing to fear."

Eve: "I'm not saying refuse, i'm saying why should we have to in the first place."

Alex: "So you want the others to reveal themselves because you have no choice yourself? That sounds kinda unfair, Cess..."

Eve: "This isn't an arguement wheather we should register or not, this is about the act and whether or not we should havce to."

Moon: "We shouldn't." Moon said to Eve. "In fact, the idea of it is ludicrous. When you go pick out a gun, a motorcycle, things you register for, you picked it. We didn't pick this. It came to us, and we try to deal with it, and yet they want to make things more difficult.

Moon: Instead of more places like Xavier's they add restrictions. It's asinine."

Cessily: "I never said it's fair," Cessily admitted. She felt horrible for saying that, but couldn't deny that she acutally felt that way, just a little bit.

Meggan: "But that's the same thing. Those that don't want to don't think they should have to and the ones that want to can see why they have to or, like Cess, they have no real choice in the matter."

Eve: "And I agree Cess it is unfair to the obvious mutants." Eve thought for a moment. "What exactly do you plan to get out of it. Will people not look at you differently once you've registered?"

Alex: "...Or will they simply demand more, now that they got what they wanted one time?," he continued Eve's argument.

Cessily: "Face it. Mutants will be discriminated against. It already happens. But so far, it's only the obvious mutants who feel it the most. Besides, imagine a mutant is hurt or even killed because of a hate crime, then the police can figure this out by seeing that he's a mutant, and possibly figure out who did this. It would be a deterrent to hate groups forming."

Jason: Jason looked at Cessily, wondering if perhaps he had simply missed something in her logic jump. "I'm pretty sure that if they're going to kill you laws aren't going to stop anyone."

Eve: "If someone got hurt, they can figure out just as quickly medically speaking that he's a mutant weather said person is registered or not. It's not like you can hide DNA."

Eve: Eve thought to himself. well... I can... but most everyone else cant..

Moon: "I just feel like there's another objective, a masked purpose that we're not aware of. I'm telling you, this is exactly how ever genocide and holocaust starts. Registration, papers, arm bands, work camps, executions."

Meggan: "Figuring it out isn't the point, the point is it happens anyway." Meggan folded her arms, "Registered or not, Mutants will be dicriminated against. We should just get it all out in the open then people can accuse us of anything."

Eve: "And we'd be forced to accept, because once you give ground, they will demand more."

Jason: Well, Jason realized that he had been right about his earlier assumption. This just wasn't fun at all. "So did we just break down the whole debate into 'If you give a mouse a cookie'?"

Cessily: "What I was trying to say is that if mutants are registered with the government, they'll enjoy its protection. So every idiot who hates mutants and just can't wait to beat some of us up will know that if he does something like that, he'll be going after an especially protected group and will face a harsher punishment."

Alex: "Though we'll also tell the idiot where to find us."

Eve: "But... shouldn't mutants already "enjoy" the governments protection? We are still citizens."

Eve: "I already understand being a minority. There are making it a difference, legally speaking, between me saying I'm African-American, and saying I'm a mutant. But that is just 2 minority populations in the country. They should be treated the same."

Moon: "Amen Eve." Moon testified.

Cessily: "Certainly, and they already do. But it's about showing everyone else that mutants will receive additional protection, because they are faced with more animosity than regular people." That sounded so hypocritical to her own ears, but what could she do?

Eve: "That makes no sense. If you make a special case out of us, what does that say to other minority groups. That they are less important and deserve less protection?" Eve shook his head.

Jason: "It says that the situation is different. There is no reason to actually actively fear other minority groups. There at least is a threat to ours."

Cessily: "Not less important, but less threatened," Cessily corrected. "I mean, everyone will understand that mutants will be particularly feared and hated."

Meggan: "It's not saying that at all. But mutants cut across all races and genders so it makes sense to ensure that everyone gets treated the same and if they have to make laws to protrect us and make sure we're treated the same I think that's fair. It doesn't make us special it makes us safe."

Alex: "Which again rises the question: Why telling people where we ive, then?" He blinked at Cessily, didn't she get the point?

Moon: "I'm fearful and sort of hate non-mutants, should I know their medical records and such?" Moon pointed out to Cess.

Meggan: "No one said anything about the public having access to information about us never mind our medical records."

Cessily: "I mean, if some militant group threatened to attack all Muslims in the country, would you really consider it unfair that mosques would be guarded, but not the other holy places?"

Moon: Moon sighed inwardly and sank into her chair. To her, this was only a matter of time.

Eve: "Ok, granted, but do the muslims have to register as muslim to get that protection?"

Meggan: "Religion is on documentation anyway, isn't it? Like passports and driver's licences...."

Eve: "I've never registered as a Baptist."

Jason: "Last I checked my driver's licences didn't have a little note on it saying 'Oh, by the way, God is a lie'. Maybe I should put it on the back."

Eve: "Does that mean I can be held in contempt by the government? Or is the land of the free, where we have total religious freedom from the government, not all that true?"

Moon: Moon snorted at Jason.

Meggan: "But the registration isn't compulsory either..." Meggan thought back to the speech that they'd gone to see, "You only have to register for things like marriages...."

Eve: "It is compulsory. If we don't there will be penalties."

Meggan: "That's just paranoia..."

Eve: "No, it's how they enforce the act."

Eve: "It's like saying if you break this law, it's ok, because you don't have to follow it. Sorry, that's not how the US goverment acts."

Cessily: "You certainly have religious freedom, but don't you think the government already distinguishes people by their religion? I mean, I'm pretty sure that if you did something suspicious and you happen to be a faithful Muslim, the government agencies will become even more suspicious."

Meggan: "They haven't said antything about any penalties though, so why say there will be some? Shouldn't we be basing this discussion on facts?"

Moon: "Our founding fathers would be rolling in their graves." And I should go make sure they are, she thought to herself.

Alex: Alex really wanted to step in and protect Meggan from Eve, but the latter had a point. "If there is no lever to bring us to registering, how should they ensure that we do, Meg? And generally there's only penalties and prizes, and the government doesn't hand out prizes."

Jason: "I wonder if we could harness their rotation for a new power source." Jason half mumbled, a bit more intent on doodling still than the discussion.

Jason: "Unless the prize is for them."

Eve: "They don't mention negative effects of legislation. There has to be a way to enforce the Act, else there would be no reason to register."

Meggan: "Maybe people want to register because they're sick and tired of hiding all the time?!" Meggan was begining to lose her temper.

Eve: "Then don't hide. But why force all the other mutants who would rather live a normal life, just because you don't want them to?"

Moon: "I don't hide." She pointed out. "Heck, I took my make-up off on TV the other day."

Meggan: "Like I've said, no one is forcing anyone."

Jason: Jason looked up from his doodles as he heard what might have been raised voices. Now things were getting to be fun.

Cessily: "Yes, that's a good point, Meggan." Cessily nodded. "I'm pretty sure they'd get plenty of benefits from it. For example, their employers would most likely face sanctions if they fired them just because they're a mutant."

Eve: "But they are forcing. Have to register to get married. Have to register to get a drivers liscense. Have to register to vote. Why be an American if you can't do any of those freely?"

Meggan: Meggan sat back in her chair, "I'm not an American,"

Eve: "Well, I am. And we are in America."

Jason: "Well, this isn't supposed to be a personal debate...hence me being on this side."

Eve: "You most likely wont have to register anyway since you are not a citizen."

Meggan: "No i won't have to but I will register anyway/"

Moon: Moon thought for a second. "Christ... I don't think I'm a registered citizen, let alone a mutant..." She would have to investigate that. "I know now what my name is, but that's it..."

Alex: "Huhwhat?" He blinked at Meggan's outburst. No way he would register!

Moon: Moon's jaw dropped. "Why? Meggan, please don't! Nothing good is going to come of that, please!"

Cessily: "And we should not forget that the government is still charged with the protection of it's citizens," Cessily pointed out. "All of them. So, if that means that a mutant will have to register with them because he happens to have to power to level an entire city, then that's unfortunate, but necessary. There's too much at stake."

Eve: "You know that most of the American government's civil rights don't apply to citizens of other countries."

Meggan: Meggan looked at Moon, "Why wouldn't anything good come out of it? I have nothing to hide and I'm not ashamed of my abilities. I don't see any reason why I shouldn't register."

Eve: "Your going to tell the US government that you are a foriegn national with powers that are potentially very dangerous? How long do you think you will get to stay here before being deported? A day? 2?"

Moon: "No, Meg, not because of who you are, but because of what they're going to do! I have a really bad feeling that all of this is just a simple cover up for what will become something much worse..." She looked genuinely concerned.

Jason: "You'll be lucky to be deported back home instead of Guantanamo." Well, so much for this staying impersonal.

Alex: "If..if she's my wife she can stay as long as she wants!"

Meggan: "I'd like to see them try to lock me up." Meggan said, a small smile replacing the scowl, "And I will be an American citizen after Alex and I get married."

Cessily: "Well, it's sad, but true, but the government doesn't have to let everyone in. It's not my personal position, but that's a prerogative of ever nation state of the world."

Eve: "No, that's not exactly right Alex. And if you don't get married here, the government doesn't have to recognize your marriage either, so it may not even be legal here if you get married elsewhere."

Eve: "And Meggan, if they do try to lock you up, and you fight back, arn't you just proving what they are doing is right? That all mutants are dangerous?"

Alex: "Really?...So...maried couples that come to the US are un-married at entrance...?" He scratched his chin in a confused manner.

Eve: "You've put yourself into a hypothetical circle of disaster."

Meggan: "who said I'd fight? I can turn into whatever I like - I'll just escape. And if they have me deported I'll fly back."

Eve: "So you would willing break a law that you support?"

Eve: "Then why support it in the first place?"

Moon: Moon looked to Meggan. "He's right y'know. I'm not going to register, even though I'm technically dead and probably don't have to. i'm not in the books. No one knows I exist."

Cessily: Cessily looked between the students seated around the table. "Please keep in mind that we're holding a debate here. This is not meant to be taken personal."

Meggan: "I wouldn't be breaking the law - I'd have registered by choice. That's' the bit I support. Didn't say anything about supporting deportations."

Jason: "I think the actual debate ended some time ago, Cessily."

Eve: "I'm not making it personal, but there is a large portion of our school that is not American, so this is a concern we should have here."

Cessily: "Yeah, I think so, too," Cessily agreed and sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Somehow I don't think that this is what Xavier had in mind when he gave us the assignment."

Eve: "Why not? We are still discussing the ramiications of the Act." Eve smiled.

Meggan: Meggan frowned again, "Well I don't care what anyone says. I'm going to register and no one will change my mind."

Jason: "He asked students to sit in a room and talk politics. I'm fairly certian he had a good idea what it would end up being like."

Moon: "God bless the guy, he wants us to make up our own minds. He probably knows what's best, better than any of s. Probably has a plan for whichever occurs too..." She sighed.

Eve: "Ok, well Cess. Tell me the number one reason to register. What will it do for me personally. Make me a believer." He looked down at the notes he'd been keeping the whole time to read back over them real fast.

Cessily: "And it's your right do so," Cessily told Meggan with a smile. "I'm not personally agreeing with the law, myself, but it's Meggan's prerogative to make her own decisions. Even if others don't agree with it."

Cessily: "Because if the law is passed, it's been done so by a democratic decision, and the supreme court will decide whether it agrees with the constitution or not," Cessily explained. "You might not personally agree with the law, but it will make many people feel a lot safer. It's not meant to exploit anyone, but to protect every citizen of this country."

Cessily: "And there is a reason why we decided to settle things by vote," she went on. "It's certainly better than deciding things by brute force. So, why would you go against a law if it's been passed in a democratic manner and conforms to the constitution?"

Moon: Moon looked suspiciously to Cess. Man, she really was playing the other side huh? "You know, democracy has passed some pretty stupid laws Cess..."

Eve: "Because it doesn't conform to the constitution. All men are created equal. Why should some of us equal people be singled out. My forebearers faught long and hard to be considered equal, and that's all about to get taken away."

Jason: "We might not even be equal now." Jason half muttered again, flipping the newspaper over to the business section.

Meggan: "We're not equal though..." Meggan said thoughtfully, "WE're... well... better..." Meggan felt almost sick saying it but it was kind of true.

Cessily: "There are all kinds of laws that differentiate between people," Cessily replied. "Most of them to support minorities and keep them from getting discriminated against. By that logic, those laws would be unconstitutional, too."

Eve: "That is true, but you don't have to register as a minority. Census check yes, and it's marked that I have black skin on my driver's liscense, but not to vote, not to get married. No one has had to register as anything but a free citizen to vote in almost a hundred years. Why change the process now?"

Moon: "Because we were on a roll. Lord forbid U.S. Of A. do anything right for too long..." She grumbled.