I'd argue that the writing was on the wall when marriage was legally defined and moved away from being a religious rite to being a secular right.

Tags: marriage ∙ religion ∙ secular ∙ Bookworm ∙ permissible ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita ∙ damage ∙ undesirables ∙ interracial marriages ∙ force of law ∙ Constitution ∙ man ∙ woman ∙ English common law ∙ Bible ∙ 20th Century ∙ Emperor Nero ∙ Mesopotamia ∙ China ∙ John Boswell ∙ Orthodox Church ∙ Native Americas ∙ third gender ∙ two-spirit ∙ mating ∙ pairbond ∙ raising a family ∙ Divine ∙ Old Testament ∙ biological ∙ monogamy ∙ permissible ∙ choice ∙ privilege ∙ right to vote ∙ Christian

““Government has three primary functions. It should provide for military defense of the nation. It should enforce contracts between individuals. It should protect citizens from crimes against themselves or their property. When government-- in pursuit of good intentions tries to rearrange the economy, legislate morality, or help special interests, the cost come in inefficiency, lack of motivation, and loss of freedom. Government should be a referee, not an active player.””
     — Milton Friedman

Tags: Milton Friedman ∙ goverment ∙ military ∙ contract law ∙ mala in se ∙ good intentions ∙ morality ∙ special interests ∙ inefficiency ∙ motivation ∙ freedom ∙ referee

Under what circumstances does the state or the people have the moral authority to compel someone to act against their beliefs?

Tags: kosher ∙ pork ∙ BBQ ∙ equality ∙ past wrongs ∙ equal rights ∙ granting privilege ∙ denying rights ∙ moral authority ∙ freedom ∙ Eric July ∙ discriminate ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita ∙ goverment

❝❝Bad in and of itself. Something is mala in se if and only if it threatens or results in measurable damage to life, liberty, and property. Murder, violent attacks, rape, kidnapping, and theft are included. The key concept here is "measurable damage."❞❞
     — NeoWayland, mala in se

Tags: maxims ∙ lexicon ∙ mala in se

No one person and no one group has all the answers. No one group should be vested with THE moral authority to decide who is and is not a hate group.

The SPLC needs competition.

Tags: Southern Poverty Law Center ∙ hate groups ∙ competition ∙ religion ∙ authority ∙ FedGovs ∙ press ∙ conservative ∙ libertarian ∙ KKK ∙ Nation of Islam ∙ pro-life Christian ministries ∙ militias ∙ hate crime ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita ∙ Mark Potok ∙ hypocrites

❝❝There are two assumptions implicit in public accommodation laws. First is that there is a class of people who no matter what can never ever do things on their own. Second is that most people no matter what can never ever be trusted to do the right thing.

I think both assumptions are wrong.

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Good law has been used for bad purposes since someone bothered to write down the law. The question you should ask is which is more important, freedom or misuse of the law?

It's my old friend, the parity test. If Christians can be barred from living their faith, what's to stop pagans from being barred from living theirs? Or atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, or any of a thousand others?

Just because someone does something you don't like doesn't mean that it should be illegal and that someone should be punished for it. I'd say that the guideline should be measurable harm to someone's person, liberty, and property. Hurting your feelings shouldn't qualify. I deal with the difference between mala in se and mala prohibita laws at my politics blog at www DOT paganvigil DOT com SLASH files SLASH RootsGovPower061204 DOT html.

Incidentally, the right of free association was one of the "understood" rights covered by the Tenth Amendment. After all, the U.S. had just fought a war over it.

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Up until that time, it was one of the biggest wars about non-association ever fought.

Freedoms seldom clash with each other. Someone wanting to control others through religion isn't freedom, it's politics. Knowing the difference can be helpful.

I'm not responsible for how someone feels, especially since both the feelings and the standards used to justify those feelings change often. Measurable harm to someone's person, property, and liberty is one of the few objective standards we can agree on. A microaggression is what the victim says it is, and some things become microaggressions that weren't last week. It's privilege. I don't have time or energy to indulge it anymore.❞❞

Tags: freedom ∙ misuse of law ∙ parity test ∙ measurable harm ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita ∙ Tenth Amendment ∙ microaggression ∙ victim ∙ privilege

❝❝Mala in se means "bad in and of itself." Something is mala in se if and only if it threatens or results in measurable damage to life, liberty, and property. Mala prohibita means "bad because it is prohibited." Something is mala prohibita if and only if the state has forbidden it. I would add regulation as well.

To prove mala in se, you have to show measurable damage. Mala prohibita means that the government will impose morality and ethics by force.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: damage ∙ forbidden ∙ maxims ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita

❝❝It's the old parity test again. And it is the surefire method to tell if a law is mala in se or mala prohibita. ❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: maxims ∙ parity test ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita

❝❝We can agree on the mala in se but we can't agree on the mala prohibita.❞❞
     — NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics

Tags: maxims ∙ agree ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita

Tags: prostitution ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita ∙ vice law ∙ religion ∙ moral ∙ politicos ∙ schools ∙ libraries ∙ luxury ∙ measurable harm ∙ parity test

Tags: rights ∙ minority rights ∙ Decalogue ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita ∙ public meetings ∙ pagan symbols and rites ∙ public eye ∙ locked doors ∙ privacy fences ∙ illegal behavior ∙ societal repression ∙ personal discipline ∙ morality ∙ ethics ∙ civil rights laws ∙ dominist ∙ favorites

Cashing in on people's fear

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ speech wars ∙ E pluribus unum ∙ religion ∙ personal responsiblity ∙ Romney ∙ Christianity ∙ mala in se ∙ parity test ∙ freely chosen ∙ mala prohibita ∙ coercive power ∙ moral justification ∙ person of faith ∙ Barry Goldwater ∙ favorites

The law and you

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita ∙ Prohibition ∙ forbidden ∙ sex ∙ social engineering ∙ gambling ∙ prostitution ∙ picture ∙ guest content

Which laws are necessary and which ones are wasteful? Here is what you can count on a libertarian to say.

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ mala in se ∙ mala prohibita ∙ forbidden