Whenever something bad happens, it’s common to see a push for stronger laws to prevent such an event from taking place again.
This raises the question of whether laws have the power to stop bad things from happening in the first place.
Here’s something to remember.
Laws may be applied in a preventive manner or a protective manner.
It’s essential to understand the difference between the two.
Preventive laws seek to prevent harm by preemptively exercising prior restraint upon the peaceful and violent alike.
They deny a certain measure of everyone’s natural rights in a misguided attempt to compel good conduct.
Protective laws, on the other hand, come into play only after probable cause exists that harm has been done to a victim.
The accused must be afforded due process of law including equal treatment before the law, the right to representation, the right to a speedy jury trial, the right to face one’s accuser and a host of other checks on the power of the state.
This is to prevent the abuse of official power and to limit its application strictly to those whose behavior warrants some type of official intervention.
Only one of these approaches to law is conducive to a free society, the other is directly opposed to personal freedoms.
It would serve us well to understand the difference between the two.
Otherwise, we might be tempted to use our own fears and anger to control and dominate others who have harmed no one.
Share this post