this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2023
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A new law in Texas requires convicted drunk drivers to pay child support if they kill a child’s parent or guardian, according to House Bill 393.

The law, which went into effect Friday, says those convicted of intoxication manslaughter must pay restitution. The offender will be expected to make those payments until the child is 18 or until the child graduates from high school, “whichever is later,” the legislation says.

Intoxication manslaughter is defined by state law as a person operating “a motor vehicle in a public place, operates an aircraft, a watercraft, or an amusement ride, or assembles a mobile amusement ride; and is intoxicated and by reason of that intoxication causes the death of another by accident or mistake.”

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[–] [email protected] 290 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Damn Texas. Sometimes you do manage to do something right.

[–] [email protected] 106 points 1 year ago (4 children)

This just seems like theater. What if you disable the parents such that they can't support their kid? You slip through?

[–] [email protected] 120 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It's theater. People go to prison for intoxication manslaughter. How are they making money to pay for child support? What kind of job will they really get after getting out of prison for essentially murder?

[–] [email protected] 105 points 1 year ago (2 children)

A cynical person might even say this is an attempt by the state and insurance companies to justify not having any sort of security net for victims' families. If one person can be held financially responsible for the kids, why should anyone else have to step in?

[–] [email protected] 52 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That is exactly what it is, aimed at drunk drivers first because everyone will be on board with that demographic first. Then it will be expanded over time.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all. -- H.L. Mencken

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Like how your insurance doesn't work if you get hurt on the job?

[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Also, why just drunk driving? Why not you pay child support for murder?

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Because if you get convicted of murder, you go to jail for a long period of time and never really make much money again, even if you get out.

Their child support payments would be like 16.53 per month.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Then they pay it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Murder is not near the problem of driving. Few people murder, but many have accidents.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Moving from A to B can still be a good thing to do, even if there are some remaining problems at B.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

Better something than nothing, we can improve on something

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

You're completely right. People just want to keep their blinders on and hate on this because it's Texas. They don't want to think critically and acknowledge a state that often does the wrong thing can also do the right thing.

I guarantee there wouldn't be as many critical comments if this were New York or California.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I fucking hate Texas and I came here to support this move. (Most) People are less shitty than you suggest.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah, you're right. It's just disheartening how many people view this as a bad thing even though it's clearly a step in the right direction.

I'm sure the people that are against this are much more likely to voice their opinions than those that support it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

In your metaphor b is closer to c than a so it's a good thing. But if b is on a one way street to a cliff it doesn't make it a good thing to drive there.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

If someone is unable to pay the restitution because they’re incarcerated, they’re expected to make payments no “later than the first anniversary of the date,” of their release, the law says.

From the article. So seems like they thought of that too

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So how long do you get for manslaughter in the us? 8 years? So at best the child gets support like 9 years later and only if the person manages to get a good enough job... Maybe the life of a child shouldn't be a lottery but just backed by the state

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

So you’re saying that people can just ignore debt imposed and tracked by the government?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Are you replying to the right person?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

Two things in a row it seems. This is weird.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They did something that wasn't evil, just stupid. I guess that is a win for texas. There are already systems to make people pay damages to other people without having the child go trough the indignity of getting child support from a murderer.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Indignity of receiving child support? Are you kidding?

We're talking about a child/children's parent being killed, and you think it's somehow unjust that they're receiving the smallest amount of financial restitution from the person who killed them. I'd love to hear you explain how this is somehow stupid or insulting to a single parent and the surviving children.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

All the words in my comment are important and you seem to have cut out a large part of them like some kind of weird ransome note.

I said that damages, that means the same as financial restitution, should be and is payed out in these kinds of cases. There is already a legal framework for that and it doesn't involve child support like the drunk driver is the kids new dad. It is a gross way of looking at it and if it is truly child support like child support is handled then they have suddenly introduced a criminal aspect to a system that doesn't normally interface with the justice system.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I am not going to oppose anything that gets more support to single parents and children who lose a parent.

Being opposed to this because of what it's called is a ridiculously short sighted view to take. I don't care what this is called, but it is not gross, and it is not stupid.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Do you actually read my comments or do you just skim them?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It's a disease related to America Bad Syndrome, called "Texas Bad Syndrome"

To the afflicted, nothing Texas does is good.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

Bro, it's a habit that was instilled in us by Texas literally always doing the bad thing.

I'd have trouble believing I saw a unicorn if it ran by me too.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 1 year ago

No no. They did a good thing. They just did it in a retarded way.