Legislating Morality

Some months ago on her nightly news show, Rachel Maddow quoted this famous cliché: “And we all know you can’t legislate morality.” Her comments were in response to an interviewee.

I have heard that cliché many times that you can’t legislate morality. But that is precisely what we do try to legislate. Think of some of the Ten Commandments. We have laws against murder, which would include violent assault and manslaughter. We have traffic laws to help avoid killing on the highways. We have laws against stealing which would include embezzlement and fraud. We have laws against false witness such as perjury in a court of law or against misrepresentation of a product or service.

Of course, what many people mean by the cliché, “you cannot legislate morality” is sexual morality. We used to have laws against adultery, but years ago they were unenforceable and would be even more so today where fornication and adultery are common place.

But we do have laws attempting to regulate sexual morality. We have laws against incest, rape, sexual abuse of a minor and laws against (in most states), marrying a close relative. We have laws against polygamy (as the Mormons experienced years ago). And we have laws against bigamy, which as Mark Twain said, is having one wife too many. He then added with a twinkle in his eye, that monogamy is often the same thing!!

So the time-worn cliché is not accurate. We do and should attempt to legislate morality with good and enlightened laws.