Legislating Morality - Prologue

This is a hot topic with me on twitter, so I figured I'd start with the government's (mostly the right's) obsession with legislating morality.  I think this is a good issue because across various subtopics there's anywhere from a stark divide to near universal agreement.  Now of course, one can certainly argue that nearly all laws are a means of legislating morality; however, that's not what I want to get at.  For the purpose of this thread I plan to discuss morality that is specific to certain groups like religions, and how & when those issues affect the political and legislative process.

Using the ten commandment as an example, there are plenty of religious moral codes that are perfectly applicable as part of social morality and law:  don't kill, lie, and steal, then there are a few in-between that are more like moral guidelines:  don't covet, don't commit adultery, honor father/mother, and then there's the rest that fall into the "believe what you want to believe" category:  don't create false idols, observe the Sabbath, don't take the lord's name in vain, etc.  With this in mind, far too few people forget the fact, and this is where the trouble starts, that the government is here to protect religious freedom, not to ensure it's more popular principles are upheld as a matter of law.  Each of us would do well to remember that one of the things that make this country great is our ability to worship as we please, which is maintained in-part through a stark division of church and state.  Pivoting to the legislative and judicial processes, the founders, among many things they did very well, structured the system so the wants of the many would not trump the rights of the few.  So, when you get a large group together who think "separate but equal" is a good idea, there is a system in place, the Judicial Branch, to make sure laws passed by simple majority can be struck down.

Is the system perfect, no.  Are there examples of failures in the system, yes.  However, overall I think it's fair to say the notion of how things are supposed to work is solid and generally effective.  Now, to what I actually plan to discuss in upcoming posts: examples of where major political issues would attempt to fly in the face of individual freedoms, and where voters expect elected officials to impose their personal moral compass as part of the legislative process despite, what I will argue, are violations of someone else's fundamental rights.  In essence, keep your god away from my laws.

Please tune in for my next post:  Legislating Morality - Same Sex Marriage