First Post

Well, my first post.  I've given this a lot of thought so I'm going to lay out the groundwork for what this blog is going to be and why it came about.  Second thing first, why this blog on this topic.  First, I am an avid reader.  I read many things, but most pertinent to this blog I read (depending on your perspective I suppose) somewhere between a lot and some paranormal fiction.  I like it (and love some of it).  But most important to this blog is not only do I read a lot of paranormal fiction, but I have a serious "devil's advocate" quirk in me.  I try to see the other side of arguments and situations, almost reflexively.  It helps (sometimes) in my real life job, but it often gets in the way (in relationships in particular).  One way this manifests (which is of most consequence here), is that I don't like the lack of thought by the authors about the consequences on the real world around them of the paranormal world they create.  Monsters and undead are tearing people apart in the street and the author will blithely state Non-Magic folk (hereinafter to be referred to as "Norms") either are in denial or swallow wholesale the government cover-up or whatever silly reason.  I don't buy it.  Without some actual physical/magical manifestation that just doesn't allow us to comprehend the world (ala A.J. Martinez's world in Monster), I cry foul.  The world just doesn't work that way.  Cover-ups don't last, and while denial is powerful, it is not powerful enough to change the very very strong survival instinct in most humans.  So I don't buy that if there is a strong paranormal world shadowing ours that it would have no effect on the socio-political-economic (read real) world at all.  So what effect would it have?

Being a lawyer in real life, I began to ponder this.  Since I hated property and never fully understood its nuances, I began to think about the effects paranormalcy (is that even a word?) would have on property law.  How would the undead inherit?  Could they inherit?  For those of you that don't know, one of the reasons property law exists is to deal with the orderly transfer of property rights from one individual to another at death so that property is not left with uncertain ownership for long periods of time (thus making it economically de-valued/valueless).  And I began to think about how "immortal yet undead" beings could eventually accumulate huge abouts of property without ever transferring it.  Would the Norms stand for this?  And I began to think that they would not.  So how would that effect the law?  And then that led me to thinking about what are the legal ramifications for killing an undead creature under the law as it stands now?  And then I began to think would the Norms stand for that?  And thus the seed for this blog was born.

It is my intent to explore (tongue firmly in cheek) the legal ramifications of the undead, werewolves, sorcerers, etc. as they impact the legal community.  I firmly advise any zombies, vampires, were-anything, pixies, wizards and that ilk that what I say is not legal advise and cannot be taken as such.  And with that, I'll see you soon.  My first topic: Gun laws in the paranormal world.