February 9

Laws work only when citizens choose to comply

Letter to the Editori

Does the law govern the citizen or does the citizen govern himself when he chooses to submit to a given body of law?

There is no law that forces me to drive the speed limit against my will. I do so because I choose to. If one refuses to submit to a law, will one comply if we add more laws?

If one chooses to operate a vehicle with a suspended license after several OUIs, what good does it do to add more laws that the scofflaw will choose not to obey?

Laws work only when citizens choose to comply individually.

Until our society voluntarily chooses to submit to our current body of law, violent crimes will be committed by citizens with weapons of choice be they firearms, automobiles, knives, baseball bats or rope.

Firearms are not the issue, but violent crimes of all kinds.

Only when our society looks into the mirror of our collective conscience will it see man's base nature and place the blame for all violent crime where it belongs, squarely on the shoulders of our society.

Only when our society demands all citizens learn to live by the 3 R's of a civil society -- Respect, Restraint and Responsibility -- will we see a major decrease in the number of violent crimes of all kinds.

Only when citizens have respect for other citizens and their rights and property will citizens behave responsibly toward other citizens and exhibit restraint.

Must not the citizens learn to govern themselves?

Dave Ricker, Wiscasset

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