Throughout the history of the United States, the government has been legislating morality; however, with the inventions and innovations in our social interactions, political, and personal lives, our government should amend its laws to accommodate the modern ideas and beliefs of our citizens. The government should not be able to legislate morality. While many people (Turley 1),“ insist that such laws are needed to back up moral dictates with criminal sanctions”, morality has a different definition in the minds of all the people in our country; everyone’s idea of “right” and “wrong” varies slightly. There are examples dating very far back in history to just a couple of years ago to now showing the negative impacts of government creating laws …show more content…
The laws our government enacts are not meant to be aphorisms, therefore they should not be based on morals. The laws our government imposes are for the security of our nation. There has been much controversy on abortion laws. Many people believe that it is immoral to take the life of an unborn child, however, the government does not have the right to ratify any laws against it. The law should not be able to tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her own body. The “law isn’t regulating morality, but ensuring [the] individual rights/freedoms” (Heicart 1), of the women by allowing her to make her own choice. Another modern example is gay marriage, this goes against some people’s beliefs and morals, therefore those people believe it should not be illegal. Just as abortion, the government simply cannot regulate gay marriage. Any laws prohibiting gay marriage would be denying the rights and freedoms of an individual. The laws in a government are “best suited to balance society’s and the individual’s interests in a way that works for both” (Heicart 1). Therefore people who do not agree with gay marriage do not have to marry someone of the same sex, but it should be a viable option for people who want