SWA #5

In the essay “If You Run a Red Light, Will Everyone Know?” Brad Stone talks about the background check websites that are popping up. A new, free search has come up to offer those same criminal records, but without all the barriers and fees. The drawback to this new site is that not only are your private records readily available to the public, they may not show completely accurate information. This new site CriminalSearches.com shows some speeding tickets as simply a “criminal offense.” This information is not only misleading, but could be damaging if an employer were to choose the cheap way out instead of hiring an investigator. I think that the public should have access to such criminal records, but how can we be sure that such a site is accurate. If it shows a simple speeding ticket as a criminal act, how can we be sure who the actual criminals are in our community? This site could just lead to local hysteria, pinning everyone for criminals.

In the essay “Taking Marriage Private” by Stephanie Coontz , she gives many examples and facts on marriage throughout history. This essay said many things I had never heard of in regards to same sex marriage. She goes through history and shows the evolution that marriage has gone through over time. It shows the unfairness of a single piece of paper, that is that if you do not have it you have no rights to your significant other or their property. She brings about a good point that it was only recently that people needed the state’s permission to be married. While I do not agree with same sex marriage, I do not feel that we can keep them from these rights. I do feel that churches can keep them out if they so choose, but a marriage in the court house seems totally appropriate.