“Safety” Trumps The Law

One often hears armed government workers insist that “the law is the law.” But often, the law is ignored when it suits. In this video, a man open carrying – which is legal in his state – is accosted by an armed government worker who does so not on the basis of any violation of law but because – his words – “safety.”

This is the new catch-all which trumps the law.

And since “safety” is an essentially meaningless term – lacking any precise/objective definition – it can mean anything at all.

This, of course, is the antitheses of legitimate law – which must be precise/objective so as to make it possible to understand and comply with it.

If an armed government worker can accost people merely by warbling “safety” – as opposed to citing a specific law – then it means he can accost anyone, anytime and purely on his whim.

The armed government worker in this video was polite – but that’s as irrelevant as a mugger using proper English and refraining from cursing. The question is whether we’re willing to tolerate being accosted by armed government workers without probable cause, without our having violated any law – and without even an assertion by the armed government worker that we may have violated the law.

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