Suggestion for a Superpowers Registration Act:
1) Use of a superpower in the commission of a crime automatically makes the crime a federal offense, and automatically makes the crime more serious. Yes, using super-color changing to do graffiti makes your vandalism a federal offense. (For one thing—is it just super-color changing; or is it super-alchemy transmutation powers? Don't know til you test them. And the latter could make the graffiti guy able to turn glass into plutonium if he felt like it. Kind of want to keep an eye on that guy.) 1a) Idea stolen from Astro City—you'll probably need a special rule that in a criminal trial, reasonable doubt might need to be modified to require the defense attorney to provide reasonable suspicion superpowers were involved, instead of the prosecutor proving they weren't. Or else you'd never be able to convict anyone, ever—can't prove a negative, so can't prove they weren't mind-controlled, cloned, Life Model Decoyed, etc. Not when they really could have been. And in many comic book settings, the defense attorney could come up with a near-infinite list of superpowers that could hypothetically have been involved (evil versions of the defendant from an antimatter universe, shapechanging, magic illusions...)
2) If in the setting you can test for midichlorians or the x-gene or whatever, the government makes that mandatory in the same situations where they can demand fingerprinting (for instance—being arrested, joining the military, applying for a security clearance). For many of the same reasons. Yes, there will need to be Supreme Court cases to settle some of these.
Also, everyone assumes the whole world is the US. In the People's Republic of China, *of course* there's an SRA; *of course* they test everybody; *of course* people with known superpowers are legally required to use them in government service. Duh.
Disastrous. This is like the three-strikes shenanigans all over again. Especially if you have a guy whose power is passive, like a healing factor or the ability to see in the dark.
Then accurately describe the power when convicting the offender. If their superpower is ridiculously specific (they can change the color of paint, and NOTHING ELSE), then equating them with Molecular-Rearranging Man is stupid. This would be like a real-life prosecutor saying that someone murdered one person and not distinguishing the difference between a person that beat the person to death with their own hands or the one that blew up a bus to do it.
It's harder to prove a negative than a positive. If a guy has radioactive powers, how do you prove he didn't use them?
The weight of Evidence has to lie with the prosecution. Else they can just say "he has powers, so he must have used them!" even if not, which would pretty much violate "innocent until proven guilty." which is kinda important in law.
If the Defense is "I was mind controlled" then the defense has to prove that indeed, similarily as it would have to show that its client is insane for insanity defense.
But the Keyword in that is that it is DEFENSE. If the use of superpowers raises the punishment its proof is part of PROSECUTION.
Not to mention that by doing this modification you'd create a two-classes justice system, with powered citizens being the lower class. Goes great with that constitution of yours, right?
As for the testing: In Germany (don't know how its on your side of the pond) we have the Right of Non-Knowledge concerning genetic screening. Essentially its the right not to know of things which would impair your life style (for example: knowing you have a higher chance for cancer). From where i see it, such a law would extent to any X-Gene and prevent general screening as if you're forced to register you KNOW you have an X-Gene.
Also, you cannot compare giving Finger Prints (which are to compare to something later) with a blind search of your genome.
Also, maybe a bit of Fridge Horror but Combine your idea of laying the weight of evidence at the defendant, with the heavier sentencing for "power crimes" with the idea of screening everyone who's arrested. I give it 5 Minutes until someone is sent to jail for 10 years for speeding because "his powers made him feel secure enough to do it."
And with all that, villifying the super-powered this way will have reaaaally great long term consequences!
edited 29th Jun '12 4:33:05 PM by 3of4
"You can reply to this Message!"This SHRA seems like the sort of thing that could drive politically-dissident supers to villainy. (As I said when Civil War was first announced, "[SARCASM]Well, if I had superpowers, I'd be TOTALLY fine with Dick Cheney knowing my secret identity.[/SARCASM]")
One of the many, many balls that Marvel dropped in Civil War is that (as far as I know) no third-party tried to recruit disaffected supers during it.
Good afternoon, people of America. I apologize for interrupting your media drivel, but I have a message for a few of you. Those of you blessed with special powers, heed my voice. Your own government regards you as nothing more than convenient tools, to kill or die on their whim. My country can offer you a better way. Your own way. Join us.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
edited 1st Jul '12 9:55:24 PM by arbane
Putting the morality of such an act aside, it feels to me to be kind of the logical conclusion of the world Marvel has created.
I mean, more or less from the begginning we've had smear campaigns claming that Spiderman is a menace, "mutant rights" and racist attacks against them and so on. Public decrial of Supers is a HUGE part of the marvel universe, so it only makes thematic sense that the people living there would eventually demand some sort of government effort to control them.
Actually, the Fantastic Four, considered the "beginning of the Marvel Age", were pretty beloved. And Spider-man has a mixed reaction at best. Some people love him, some people think he's a hero, and some are ambivalent.

Like I said, it's basically akin to feudalism. But in this case, it's primarily played on the negative side.
In a feudal society, lords and knights did most of the warring and the fighting. The serfs and peasantry were left out of it. However, those nobles and such were also given privileges and rights that put them above the ordinary folks.
The downside to it, however, was whatever you were born as, you were stuck with it. In much the same way, a Super would not have a choice. They would always be a super. Regardless of what they actually wanted to do with their lives.
Your system would be all of the latter, but little of the former.