This point was inspired by a comment from my friend Eric Sundwall. He stated "I still think Kent should be utilizing 'illegitimate' laws as opposed to 'illegal' laws. Something cannot be A and not A." Perhaps.
Imagine for a moment that no Bill of Rights exists. It must be easy to imagine, since the feds do it every day. Now suppose that the Constitution, which is supposed to be the supreme law of the land, said that all witches must be burned at the stake. Then suppose the Congress passed a law a few years later, without amending the Constitution, that said that witches were free to practice whatever religion they liked, as is everyone else. According to the Constitution that law would be illegal (but it would not be counterfeit). Even the corrupt Supreme Court has stated that any law which violates the Constitution is not a law that must be obeyed.
Or suppose the new law allows witches to live, as long as they pay a "religion tax". That law would be illegal according to this imaginary Constitution, and it would also be counterfeit as it attempts to regulate or control something other than aggression or fraud.
Now suppose the Constitution says that the right of the people to own and to carry weapons shall not be infringed, yet Congress passes laws which say what kinds of guns the people can own, forbid certain people from owning any guns at all, dictate how those guns must be sold, sets up a huge vindictive agency to punish people who own and sell guns, and so forth. That bunch of laws would be both illegal, according to the Constitution (and a former incarnation of the Supreme Court) and counterfeit. In most cases counterfeit "laws" are also illegal, but not always.
If the Constitution blocks or violates individual liberty, it is wrong. Never forget that. I hope that has cleared up any confusion.
LOL, nope, you've caused more confusion, or at least you have for me.
ReplyDeleteTry giving an example of a real law in the real world, not a make-believe law in a make-believe world. Maybe that will help me understand your point better.
My last example did that. Unless you want an example of an illegal law that is not counterfeit. In that case I would say that IF there was something in the Constitution that OKed slavery (I'm not sure if there is or not), then laws outlawing slavery would be "illegal" while being legitimate, or "not counterfeit".
ReplyDeleteAny law that goes against the Constitution and/or its amendments is illegal, while any law that attempts to regulate or forbid anything other than aggression or fraud is counterfeit.