Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

January 3, 2009

A Lawrence, Kansas boy's fondess for iconic video game character Sonic the Hedgehog has led to a successful crusade to overturn a citywide ban on the critters.

KTKA-49 reports that Judson King, 11, decided three years ago that he loved Sonic so much that he needed to own a real hedgehog, but...

Lawrence's animal code has long prohibited the fury rodents in the city limits, a fact that didn't particularly upset Judson's mother.

"I thought, that's my out. Now I don't have to get him one. Then he said, 'How do we make them legal?'" mom Rebecca Weeks said.

Judson researched hedgehogs for three years. When he finally got a chance to plead his case with the Lawrence city commissioners late last year, they agreed with him and lifted the ban.

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Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

That is awesome.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

Let's just hope the kid takes good care of it.


Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

Now, he's going to get it and realize that he doesn't want it because it's not blue and can't run faster than a cheetah.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

I think that after researching them for 3 years he MIGHT just already be aware of that.

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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

-Mouth drops- Chirp chirp. and you thought i was the rabid sonic fan(I owned serveral sonic Games) comon can someone hit me with a gravity hammer(from Halo 3) right now

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

Nido Web Flash Tutorials AS2 and AS3 Tutorials for anyone interested.
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

Me and my roommate use to call that Halo baseball... though never thought to actually use grenades with the hammer...

frankly, i was always disappointed we could never get halo jousting to work out

of the things we would try out when we got board of actual Halo

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

awesome! my brother and I did something similar with the warthog, tho this looks like more fun LOL

300 Episodes and counting: http://www.orangeloungeradio.com/

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

Wow, i'm surprised a 14 year old was able to convince them like that! I wonder how many politicians held it against the kid that he was moved into doing this because of a video game...xD

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

He's eleven.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

why the hell were they illegal in the first place?

Hedgehogs? Come on! They're like spikey hamsters. I can understand pet Rats or something, but Hedgehogs?

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

I agree with you on the hedgehogs but I don't think pet rats should be illegal either. They clean themselves six times a day, they aren't escape-artists like hamsters are, and if they do happen to get out, they'll be nearby because they're territorial and will want back in their cage.

岩「…Where do masochists go when they die?」

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

The only reason I can think of is because there are no native species of hedgehog in North America.  Perhaps that city didn't want them getting loose and introducing a new species to the habitat.  However, most domesticated species don't like cold climates and don't hibernate, so it's not likely they'd survive out alone in most of the States, anyways.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

You'd be amazed. Look up quaker parrots sometime.
---
I'm not under the affluence of incohol as some thinkle peep I am. I'm not half as thunk as you might drink. I fool so feelish I don't know who is me, and the drunker I stand here, the longer I get.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

 Not sure exactly... though looking around a bit, hedgehogs have actually been quite troublesome in some countries that they were not native too... Something like they started multiplying but had no natrual predators to control the population and as such they ended up eating to much. Sometimes introducing foreign animals into a new environment can have negative effects...

The fear of such a thing is the only reason i can see for banning hedgehogs from the city competely...

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

Crud, after searching high and low for the X-Play clip where they raced the hedgehogs, (Since that's what this story reminded me of) ... no dice.

Admittedly they were kinda fast... tho not quite up to Sonic's speed.

300 Episodes and counting: http://www.orangeloungeradio.com/

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/videos/10036/Shadow_the_Hedgehog.html?keyword_...

This is the episode, but not the race.  The start of it, and then scrub to 3:30, and play from there.  No other footage I can find.

Nido Web Flash Tutorials AS2 and AS3 Tutorials for anyone interested.
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

If the kid wanted a hedgehog, he could always use a Formula One racecar to catch it.

------------------------------

When Jack Thompson runs his mouth, does anyone really care what he has to say anymore?

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

I think someone needs to tell this kid that real hedgehogs aren't blue, can't talk, and don't fight evil robots.

But seriously, thats some pretty rabid fandom to go through all that just to own one of the little criitters. lol it'd be funny if after all that his parents said he couldn't have one ^_^

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

He studied them for 3 years so I really doubt he'd still believe they are blue.

Then again, perhaps he've seen too many cartoons where people being choked turns blue..

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

How does one ban hedgehogs from a city?

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

Security walls.

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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

The Chinese uses their great wall

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

Loop-the-loops, spikes, and robots.  Lots and lots of robots.

---
The Mammon Industry

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

ROFL

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

xD

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

And water.  Hedgehogs can't swim.

 

"That's not ironic. That's justice."

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

/internet

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

That is indeed impressive.  Maybe we can get him to run the ESA next year.

"There is no sin except stupidity." - Oscar Wilde

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

Lawrence's animal code has long prohibited the fury rodents in the city limits, a fact that didn't particularly upset Judson's mother.

 

I'll assume that was supposed to be furry, I think this writer needs to do some research because hedghogs are anything but furry. That and they're not rodents... I guess it's too much to ask for "reporters" to do even five minutes of research on a story.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

It's not a typo, they have fury!

---You are likely to be eaten by a Grue.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

The hedgehog's default emotional state is enraged.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

Heh. Fury rodents... sounds like a low-level D&D monster.

You enter the 20' by 20' stone chamber. Inside is a Fury rodent that attacks you for *roll* 6 points of damage. Make a saving throw versus rabies...

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

i hope he doesn't make the same mistake a lot of people in my time did after watching things like TMNT and thinking that a turtle can come out of its shell.

or he's in for a REAL suprise :)

but then again he did some research, and the only reason it was overturned is probably because the politicians saw no reason not to and didn't even know why it was there themselves, and it also gave them something to do with their overpayed arses for a few minutes as opposed to just slandering things they know nothing off and sucking up tax dollars to pretend they know things.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

I think the 'Awwww... what a sweet little kid' factor came into play to be honest, but nothing wrong with that :)

 

The whole mention of Hedgehogs reminds me of the UK's Monster Raving Looney party, who used to have a mandate of moving all road-crossing buttons to 1ft above the ground so that Hedgehogs could reach them. This, apparently, would help reduce the number of them being hit by cars every year...

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

that kid is a badass.

=========================================================================== Jack Thompson is vanquished!!!

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

...kudos kid.  I was just happy with my Sonic plush I got when I was a kid.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

 Quick, hide the kid before Alevan finds her way in here and abuses him.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

*facepalm*

So uncalled for. Methinks I should send word to Dennis to look over your recent posts, DeoVIRUS.

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"Game on, brothers and sisters." -Leet Gamer Jargon

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

what really strikes me about this story is how the first thought in his mom's head was 'how can i make it so he never gets a hedgehog?'

"that's my out. now i don't have to get him one."? who thinks this when their kid wants something as silly and small as a hedgehog.

Re: Youthful Sonic Fan Gets Ban on Hedgehogs Overturned

Considering how young he was and how long he's been trying to get them unbanned, that's rather impressive. I'm sure he'll be a great pet-owner with that kind of dedication. No doubt he's already picked a name :P

GamePolitics ShoutBox

Posted 02/09/10 at 03:51pm
DarkSaber: I think he just goes round the internet copy+pasting the same bollocks to get attention.
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:41pm
Valdearg: @DS: I have to admit, I chuckled when I saw the 4 Feb 2010 on that post.. >.<
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:31pm
DarkSaber: Hm, Bioshock. Not that Zippy likes to beat the dead horse by ranting about it for TWO $&%£ING YEARS!
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:30pm
DarkSaber: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.173063-Bioshock-yet-another-zippy-rant
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:26pm
Valdearg: @DS: Link!! LINK!
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:20pm
DarkSaber: Although, unsurprisingly, he's just being called an idiot alot and criticised for being as illegible as always.
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:18pm
DarkSaber: Oh good lord, I just found Zippy on The Escapist.
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:14pm
Valdearg: IE: Male body/Female Mind or Female Body/Male Mind.
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:13pm
Valdearg: @Zip: TG == Transgendered/Transsexual.
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:09pm
DarkSaber: Forget it Zippy, it's an abbreviation of a big word and so would be wasted on you
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:07pm
ZippyDSMlee: Vlag:....TG?
Posted 02/09/10 at 03:02pm
Valdearg: @DS: Im sure that's what they'd do if it wasn't legal to just tell Gays/TG's to "Screw off," just because they're who they are.
Posted 02/09/10 at 02:50pm
DarkSaber: Whoever told him/her/it that is dumb. They should have done like most companies and made-up some bullshit, yet legal, reason for it not getting the job.
Posted 02/09/10 at 01:18pm
Valdearg: I do agree that it shouldn't be legal. That's for sure.
Posted 02/09/10 at 01:16pm
Andrew Eisen: Shouldn't be. Spirit of anti-discrimination laws would seem to include sexual orientation (and eye color). Plus there's always equal protection and such. Never know until you try.
Posted 02/09/10 at 01:14pm
Valdearg: @AE: Doubtful. Again, it's perfectly legal.
Posted 02/09/10 at 01:10pm
Andrew Eisen: Should have sued (unless that wasn't an option given her financial situation or something). Might have won.
Posted 02/09/10 at 01:00pm
Valdearg: Story about a Male to Female TG who was expressly told she wouldn't be given a job because she was TG. Its not the main point of the story, but explicit, perfectly legal discrimination like this exists.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:53pm
Valdearg: Lol, I don't know. It may very well be legal to do so. Though that might able to fall under the "race" restriction, depending on how that point is argued.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:51pm
Valdearg: I don't think they do have any legal recourse. I'll have to dig around, but I seriously believe that if the law doesn't specifically mention Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity, they can still be discriminated against in those 29 states.
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