# When Should the Law Be Disobeyed **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-should-the-law-be-disobeyed/553250 "2010-09-10T01:23:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-should-the-law-be-disobeyed/553250/41 "2010-09-12T00:29:31Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > The law is irrelevant, per se. It doesn’t factor into my decision-making (though of course the possibility of punishment does). NOTE: This only applies to me. Everyone else should be following the rules, because I don’t trust you to know when it’s ok to disregard them. > > > [@Curtis Lemay](#): > > > > When the Law Is Highly Inconvenient (ie You’re an Illegal Immigrants) > > Off-topic, but i.e. means “that is.” What you meant to use was e.g. (“for example”). I see. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-should-the-law-be-disobeyed/553250/42 "2010-09-13T13:27:11Z")
Depends upon the law. An immoral law SHOULD be disobeyed. Some laws that I mildly disagree with I probably shouldn’t disobey but I do anyway, like speed limits. Some laws that intrude into my life I disobey with relish - For example, at one time it was illegal to have oral sex in my state (or so I’ve heard). Didn’t stop me and my wife. The force of the law is both in the punishment for disobedience and in the general public agreement to abide by the law. I agree with many laws and gladly obey them to keep the public order - That doesn’t mean that our lawmakers have a free hand to control my life. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-should-the-law-be-disobeyed/553250/43 "2010-09-13T14:32:39Z")
When the law is immoral. And I consider the laws against illegal immigrants to be immoral because they are based upon bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-should-the-law-be-disobeyed/553250/44 "2010-09-18T17:58:24Z")
Whenever it’s a law stopping you doing something that doesn’t cause direct or indirect harm to another person or their property. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-should-the-law-be-disobeyed/553250/45 "2010-09-18T21:05:30Z")
Law should always be obeyed. The remedy for bad laws is the ballot box and the legilature and to a lesser extent the Courts, not through disobedience since fails to conform to your own notions of values. And before anyone comes up with the Nazi example, I think i should be remembered there was no law in existance which said “shoot jews, roma and gays”, indeed the Nazis at least paid lip service to due process and IIRC dismissed a Concentration Camp commadant for killing and torture (Buchenwald?). ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-should-the-law-be-disobeyed/553250/46 "2010-09-19T01:15:14Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Law should always be obeyed. The remedy for bad laws is the ballot box and the legilature and to a lesser extent the Courts, not through disobedience since fails to conform to your own notions of values. > > And before anyone comes up with the Nazi example, I think i should be remembered there was no law in existance which said “shoot jews, roma and gays”, indeed the Nazis at least paid lip service to due process and IIRC dismissed a Concentration Camp commadant for killing and torture (Buchenwald?). And if there’s no recourse to the ballot box or the Courts? And while there was no law that said “Kill all Jews” there were laws that stripped Jew of any right and legal recourse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-should-the-law-be-disobeyed/553250.md?page=2)