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> This is such an HN comment. Democratically elected politicians enact laws that reflect the conservative views of their voters and that is totalitarian because
by scarface74 3y ago
> This is such an HN comment. Democratically elected politicians enact laws that reflect the conservative views of their voters and that is totalitarian because they are controlling every aspect of government centrally with all decisions made my unelected leaders? No, because you disagree with it, that's it.
Three points.
The will of the majority should never limit the desires of the minority as long as it doesn’t impinge on someone else. Would you use the same justification for laws against miscegenation and “sodomy” (ie non heterosexual sex) because that’s what the “conservative lawmakers” wanted”? Why the carve out against “protected individuals”? All of our rights should be protected against religious fundamentalism. Freedom of religion also should be freedom from religion.
We see all across the United States even in conservative states that when abortion rights are put on the ballot they are consistently passing even against the will of the legislation.
I can assure you as a resident of Florida and more specifically Orlando, the number of people who want hundreds of thousands of dollars and energy wasted going after “woke Disney” is small - yet the legislation is passing laws and spending money left and right.
- _8j50 3y agoI don't know about the last paragraph but an argument can be made that porn causes social harm, if not behavioral issues in men then birth rates , revenge porn, and other stuff. Consider this, a guy smokes grass and he likes it, even with no provable medical harm to himself or others, that can be restricted due to social harm (weed), we can disagree with it bit saying it is beyond the right of the people of Utah to implement a restriction is another claim. Free speech is not absolute speech, it means speech made in good faith and that won't cause harm is permitted.
- scarface74 3y agoWe have over three decades of evidence of the harm it does when you give the government unnecessary power to regulate what consenting adults do - “The War on Drugs” that was unequally applied, locked up millions of minorities, wasted taxpayers money and decimated communities. Of course when drug abuse started affecting “rural Americans”, it was no longer a war, it became “a disease” that needed treatment. And “revenge porn” is a straw man. Once you get in that area, it’s no longer “consenting adults”. Are we really going to start regulating everything that causes harm to the individual who chooses to do the activity but no one else?
- _8j50 3y agoYou are talking about what laws should be passed and what is a good idea. I have no disagreement with that and I never supported the war on drugs. But if in the past the government had the right to regulate arbitrary harmful content then what changes in federal laws or constitution that prevents utah from passing similar laws? I don't have to agree with the policy or law to say the state is within its rights.
- int_19h 3y agoI think that most people opposed to this law are similarly opposed to existing drug laws wrt weed, and on similar grounds.