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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 21 2009, 05:12 PM (48 Views) | |
| Blue Sun Corp | Oct 21 2009, 05:12 PM Post #1 |
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A Company to Trust
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*under construction Age Requirements: 1. How old do I have to be to register for the forum? You must be at least 13 years of age. 2. How old do I have to be to become eligible to attend Sanctioned events by myself? World-wide legal adult age varies from place to place, therefore the minimum age for "full membership" is at least 18 years or higher if required by local law. Under no circumstances will an exception ever be made. Consult your local laws if you are unsure if you are old enough to join. This concept is referred to as the "age of majority." 3. What is a minor? A minor is the legal term for someone who is not yet an adult. Minors are not held accountable for their actions or safety. Instead, the responsibility falls to those adults who are supervising them. 4. Why don't you allow minors to join the Hera Veterans Association? Because minors are not legally responsible for themselves, any minor members of the Hera Veterans Association would become the legal responsibility of the club and its officers at any events where their parents are not present. This is not a malicious decision on our part. Due to the simple fact that we simple do not have the liability insurance, financial resources, or legal standing to help our club officers and members defend themselves in a lawsuit. Should we lose, any officers or members named as defendants could lose their personal savings, retirement, cars, or even their homes, and find themselves thousands or even millions of dollars in debt. Even if we were the victor in such a lawsuit, the costs involved in defending ourselves would financially devastate all involved. Since this is just a fun hobby, this is not a risk that our members or officers are willing to take. 5. What about a permission slip or a waiver form? Schools use them. The lawyers explained that liability simply cannot be waived by a parent or anyone else. A minor cannot sign anything, and be liable for themselves, either. Your parents or guardians would not be legally obliged to honor any promissory note they may have signed. If you were injured at an event, you're medical insurance would attempt to recoup their expenses by suing us, regardless of your parents' decision. Permission slips do not actually protect schools or anyone else from being sued by parents. They inform the parent/guardian of the nature of the off-campus activity and ask the parent to allow their child to participate. This can assist the school in their defense in the event of a lawsuit, but does not prevent them from being sued in the first place, nor does it prevent them from losing. Schools have lost lawsuits even when the parent signed a permission slip. 6. What if I promise to not attend any events without my parents until I am 18? Despite what you say now, you may decide to throw caution to the wind, figuring "nothing will happen" and go to an event anyway. There is also no way to know if you are sincere about this promise. Society is full of gold diggers and freeloaders looking to exploit the court system and get rich quick at other people's expense. In any case, we would still be legally liable for anything that happened to you. 7. But other groups allow minors to join? This sounds like discrimination. Many fan clubs allow minors to join their clubs despite the risks. The 501st, and the Rebel Legion for example, all accepted minors before adopting similar age restrictions. In another example, the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) accepts minors and they do have liability insurance, but they charge annual membership fees in order to pay for said insurance as well as incorporation fees, running a business office to receive legal notices, legal retainers, and so on. In the SCA, all members must sign waivers and insurance certificates that must be pulled for every event, every time, and the SCA still gets sued anyway. Other clubs use permission slips, erroneously believing that they are protecting themselves from being sued. Some simply don't take the risk seriously, figuring that nothing will happen. Most simply do not realize that they are risking all of their personal assets by allowing minors to join. 8. What about a special rank or league for minors? Some have proposed that we allow minors into a special "Junior Membership" or that minors be given a special rank such as "Cadet." Unfortunately, this is about as effective as a Superman T-shirt is against a hail of bullets from a minigun. Legally, we either allow minors to join or we don't. There is no middle ground. If we were lucky, calling minors by a different name would simply be ignored, but it's possible that the judge or jury would view this as an attempt to exploit a loophole. Judges and juries are not so befuddled by technicalities that they cannot use their common sense. Often, people who try to exploit loop holes are punished worse for doing so. 9. So does that mean I can't wear costumes or go to conventions? Of course not. You don't have to be an adult to make costumes or attend conventions, and anyone can socialize and talk to whomever they want (although your parents may have something to say about that). 10. What is the punishment for lying about my age? Minors who attempt to circumvent the age requirements in any way, including but not limited to lying or omitting their age or location, will be expelled from the club and have their forum account suspended until they are at least 18 years old (higher if required by local law) or for one year, whichever is longer. After this period is up, they may re-apply for membership. Edited by Blue Sun Corp, Oct 21 2009, 05:16 PM.
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