Legislating Morality

Okay. The next time I hear someone say "government cannot legislate morality," I think I am going to vomit. Statements like that seem so illogical (to me, I know....) that I didn't really think anybody actually believes stuff like that. But, I was reading someone's blog the other day and, there is was (though I cannot find that blog again, or I'd link to it.)

So, I feel compelled to address this if for no other reason than to get it off my mind (and share with all 3 of my readers what they probably already know.)

So that we are all on the same page, I will refer you to this for the definition of morality. But generally speaking "morality" means doing the right thing.

Here are some examples of immoral (ie "wrong") behavior that, I think, few people would argue with:
1. raping a six-year-old
2. driving while intoxicated and causing an accident
3. falsifying company audits and pocketing the "left-over" money
4. collecting money for services that were never rendered

The whole reason that laws exist is to encourage people NOT to act immorally and to punish people who do. These things I have listed are wrong, and it is good and right for us to have laws against them - for us to legislate morality.

If it is wrong for government to make laws which prevent/punish wrongdoing, then we need to immediately revoke all laws concerning the above-mentioned behaviors. Really, we need to revoke ALL laws, PERIOD!

I don't think that people who complain about "legislating morality" are properly identifying their beef. I am guessing that most people are generally in favor of laws which govern/punish the behaviors I have identified. The problem is when people disagree about what is wrong or right. People don't want to have laws predicated on a behavior that they don't think is wrong. (You know, stuff like abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research.)

So, instead of saying "I don't think that government should try to legislate morality," why don't people say what they really mean, which is "I don't think there is anything wrong with that."

Now, I could go on, (and probably will, someday) about how human beings cannot "decide" what is moral or immoral... which leads to the fact that there IS no morality apart from God... which leads to the undeniable existance of ONE TRUE GOD... which leads to the God of the Bible... which leads to.... But it is late and I have to go to bed... and, as I suggested earlier, I think the three of you already know all of this stuff anyway.

Goodnight.