The Unexpected Consequences of Laws and Lies

Last updated on: May 10, 2014 at 10:50 am by Leah Libresco

The Unexpected Consequences of Laws and Lies 2014-05-10T10:50:01-04:00 Leah Libresco

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Two of my recent posts at The American Conservative turned out to be about unintended consequences. The first, “Drop Those Wedding Rings in the Name of the Law,” covered the suit filed by the United Church of Christ in North Carolina to be allowed to perform private, unofficial, same-sex weddings.

Currently, it is illegal for anyone who can conduct legal weddings to conduct extra-legal ones. It’s a bizarre constraint on religious practice, but the original purpose of the law has nothing to do with gay marriage:

The statute is the legal equivalent of banning notaries public from witnessing and stamping invalid or unofficial contracts, even if they promise to use a unofficial stamp. As long as they’re going through the same motions and procedures as when they conduct official state business, there’s the possibility for confusion.

North Carolina is not alone in setting these restrictions. Alabama, Arizona,Connecticut, Michigan, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wisconsin, all forbid people permitted to officially solemnize marriage to supervise unauthorized ceremonies. Most states classify this as a misdemeanor, and Alabama sets the highest fine at a stiff $1000 per wedding. In Virginia, rogue ministers may be sentenced to up to one year in jail.

Read more at The American Conservative…

The original law in North Carolina was well-intentioned but had slightly silly knock-on effects, but the second story I covered is a matter of life and death. Prompted by the WHO’s declaration of an emergency (with associated travel restrictions), I returned to my epidemiology and ethics hobbyhorse in “Polio Breaks Out After the U.S. Breaks Trust,” discussing the consequences of the CIA using vaccinators as covert operatives in Pakistan to catch Bin Laden.

If doctors could be spies in disguise, how could nations welcome them in? In Syria, where polio is spreading amid the chaos of the civil war, how can vaccinators persuade Assad to let them move freely within the country, if they could be doubling as spies, assassins, or gun runners? In order to check these diseases, public health officials need to be enter any country to set up quarantines and dispense inoculations. The United States has shattered the trust placed in medical workers, and polio may not be the last of the threats we face as a result…

Combatting these diseases requires more than a team of elite commandos. Turning back a pandemic, whether of natural or human origins, requires international coordination and trust. America’s covert operations have broken that trust and put us all in danger.

Read more at The American Conservative…

Previous Post

May 9, 2014

I Don't Care Much About the Pope

Next Post

May 11, 2014 Mothers, Monks, and Infinite Debts

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 7 Quick Takes Apologetics Atheism Book Conversion Debate Tactics Debates Epistemology/Philosophy Housekeeping Ideological Turing Test Marriage Morality in Practice Parsing Catholicism Possibly Heretical Radio Reviews/Recommendations Sequence Index Spiritual Practice Uncategorized

Select a Month April 2017 March 2017 January 2017 December 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who played cymbals in Temple worship?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Solomon David Moses Asaph