Re:Why I’m Suing the US Government
by int_19h on Thursday July 21, 2016 @11:41PM
(#12141582)
The purpose of me setting this bush alight is not to start a forest fire; it's to cook some marshmallows. I don't see anything wrong with that [even if it does actually start a forest fire].
If a law has unintended consequences of the magnitude that exceeds the supposed beneficial intent of the law, it's a bad law.
If there's no way to write a law without such unintended consequences, it shouldn't exist.
In this case, there's also the additional orthogonal argument that the law violates the First Amendment by prohibiting speech. Even if the law didn't have unintended consequences, this alone is sufficient to justify getting rid of it - if we allow unconstitutional laws because they serve a good purpose, all constitutional protections go out of the window.
If a law has unintended consequences of the magnitude that exceeds the supposed beneficial intent of the law, it's a bad law.
If there's no way to write a law without such unintended consequences, it shouldn't exist.
In this case, there's also the additional orthogonal argument that the law violates the First Amendment by prohibiting speech. Even if the law didn't have unintended consequences, this alone is sufficient to justify getting rid of it - if we allow unconstitutional laws because they serve a good purpose, all constitutional protections go out of the window.