Legislating Morality
Although I voted against the recent law that was passed regarding who can and cannot be married in this state, I wanted to respond to a statement that was made in one of the last letters to the editor. The idea was put forth that “we should not legislate morality.” Kerry said the same thing when he was asked about his stand on abortion, and it did not make sense to me then, and nor does it make sense to me now.Every law that exists is legislating morality in some way. For example: The laws which enforce a person’s right NOT to be raped is based on the moral ideal that people should choose for themselves when or when not to engage in sexual intercourse. The laws which state that a person cannot commit murder is based on the moral ideal that one person does not have the authority to take the life of another (although in many states this is limited to: a person cannot take the life of another without due process, but capital punishment is another issue). Laws against speeding are based on the moral ideal that an individual should not have the right to endager others in this manner. It’s all based on an ideal of morality. The ideal that to a certain extent people should be free to live according to their own ideals of morality and should not impose their own ideals upon others, is in itself, a moral ideal.
Sarah JB Jones