EVERY LAW INVOLVES MORALS

Some say that you cannot legislate morals. Acknowledged, if people
want to misbehave, they can always find a way. But every law involves
morals. It is either moral (lawful) to lie, cheat, steal and kill, or
it isn't. Every society chooses its values.

A common argument for legalization of vices like gambling and
recreational drug use is that people are going to do them anyway, why
not legalize them to be monitored and taxed? The same argument could
be made for under-age smoking and drinking, or even bullying. Since
we know bullying happens, perhaps we could sell licenses for it on
certain days. We could have a class of "deserving" victims, or we
could let the bullies take care of school discipline. The commonality
of a behavior is not a measure of whether it is right or wrong.

Some people feel we could get rid of organized crime by making their
money-making exploits legal, thus eliminating bootlegging operations.
Did the repeal of Prohibition emaciate the crime families? No, they
are more powerful today than in the 1930s. Legalization of vices does
not eliminate people who wish to make money from the hard work of others.

Susan Ternyey

Vancouver