Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

bingle · 10-13-2004, 01:12 PM

I'm a far-left liberal atheist.

It surprises me too, actually, that there are people who are socially conservative but not religious... I tend to think that prohibitions against prostitution, abortion, gay marriage, and drug legalization come from our Puritan heritage, and people who have no strong religious feelings would not consider bans on those to be legitimate.

Gay marriage: Marriage should never have entered the government sphere, but now it's tied into the legal system and as such everyone should have the right to marry whoever they want.

Prostitution: Prostitution should be legalized, because that would enable it to be regulated in order to maintain the health and safety of sex workers. Most of the current problems with prostitution arise from the fact that it is a black-market activity.

Abortion: Women have a right to do what they like to their bodies, and there's no reason to consider an unborn fetus a living entity from a moral point of view.

Gun control: The second amendment was written for the purpose of ensuring that the government could not make itself the sole controller of the nation's firepower, and use that power to take away the rights of the citizens - a noble goal. But it was written in a time when the most advanced weapons were muskets and hunting was a necessary part of survival. Now, unfortunately, weapons technology has advanced to the point where private citizens, without owning nuclear or biological weapons, can't stand toe-to-toe with the government any more. Since weapons are not a necessary part of life any more, the risks posed by having private citizens own deadly weapons is too high for the tiny benefit they provide as a safeguard against tyranny.

Drug legalization: Drugs such as caffeine, marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol should be placed on an equal footing - any minor harms that individuals can do to themselves with these drugs are that individual's choice. Where the use of these impact others (second-hand smoke, driving under the influence), their use should be punished. Harder drugs that have more serious consequences to the individual should require the individual to become educated about the consequences and pass a licensing test, much like driving, in order to partake of the substance.

10-13-2004, 01:12 PM	#38 (permalink)
bingle Crazy Location: California	I'm a far-left liberal atheist. It surprises me too, actually, that there are people who are socially conservative but not religious... I tend to think that prohibitions against prostitution, abortion, gay marriage, and drug legalization come from our Puritan heritage, and people who have no strong religious feelings would not consider bans on those to be legitimate. Gay marriage: Marriage should never have entered the government sphere, but now it's tied into the legal system and as such everyone should have the right to marry whoever they want. Prostitution: Prostitution should be legalized, because that would enable it to be regulated in order to maintain the health and safety of sex workers. Most of the current problems with prostitution arise from the fact that it is a black-market activity. Abortion: Women have a right to do what they like to their bodies, and there's no reason to consider an unborn fetus a living entity from a moral point of view. Gun control: The second amendment was written for the purpose of ensuring that the government could not make itself the sole controller of the nation's firepower, and use that power to take away the rights of the citizens - a noble goal. But it was written in a time when the most advanced weapons were muskets and hunting was a necessary part of survival. Now, unfortunately, weapons technology has advanced to the point where private citizens, without owning nuclear or biological weapons, can't stand toe-to-toe with the government any more. Since weapons are not a necessary part of life any more, the risks posed by having private citizens own deadly weapons is too high for the tiny benefit they provide as a safeguard against tyranny. Drug legalization: Drugs such as caffeine, marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol should be placed on an equal footing - any minor harms that individuals can do to themselves with these drugs are that individual's choice. Where the use of these impact others (second-hand smoke, driving under the influence), their use should be punished. Harder drugs that have more serious consequences to the individual should require the individual to become educated about the consequences and pass a licensing test, much like driving, in order to partake of the substance.