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30 Answers Folks In This Online Group Had To The Question “What Is Something That Is Illegal But Isn’t Wrong Ethically?”
Laws are there to protect us, but some of them are just silly. You may even have broken them without being aware of it because some of the things that are punishable just seem so innocent. Or maybe you know that those things are against the law but you don’t feel like morally you’re doing something wrong.
Of course, morals are a subjective thing, but some laws do really fall into the grey area. Redditors were discussing the very topic of what is illegal by the book but they wouldn’t consider it wrong ethically.
Almost 40k people liked the thread and 18k people joined the conversation. In this list you will find people’s opinions of what illegal activities aren’t so bad that many redditors agreed upon. We would like you to join the discussion and leave your thoughts about the topic in the comments!
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Being gay is still illegal in a lot of countries but it really shouldn’t be.
Jay walking and crossing the street on a red lights, as a pedestrian, when there are no cars around.
Taking food, from an employer, that was about to get thrown away anyway
You can not own more then 75 salamanders in the state of Illinois, how tf am I gonna start salamander trafficking now. F**k Illinois
u cant OWN......they r free to visit..n stay overnight, n also I prolly can like foster them or smth....NOT OWN
Drinking a beer while 20 years old - bonus points if you’re home on leave from legally fighting in a war for your country
THIS! If the government considers you old enough to go to war then they should d@mn well let you have a bloody beer.
Opposition in my country
the government will say freedom to thought...but u cant think against us, or dislike our favorite ice cream, or think about how v r wrong
Handing out water to people waiting in line to vote
Also, why the **** are you queueing to vote? There seems to be some kind of weird strategy in the States to make it as hard as possible to cast your vote. In the UK we normally close schools for polling day and turn them into polling stations - lots of them - and they are open from about 8am until 10pm. And on top of that we have a postal voting system as well, that is completely free (you don't have to pay postage and you can post it back from any post box).
Pirating media that isn't available for purchase in your area. You weren't going to get my money either way.
Downloading Roms of old games. We all know you don't own any of those games, but if companies aren't willing to rerelease them then it should be good to download roms online.
Collecting rain water
In some US states. Even owners collecting water in a bucket can be prosecuted for theft if you do not own the rights. It does not matter how small your property is, corporations have sought the prosecution of water "thieves".
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Wait, what?! Where the heck is this illegal?! This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
It's to replenish the water for everyone. Southwest USA gets very little rain and imports water from out of state. It's a downward spiral pretty soon it'll be all gone.
Load More Replies... Corporations own the water rights in several USA states, and have done so for scores of years. Even collecting the water from your own house's gutters in a bucket is a "theft" from the corporation that owns the water rights. In several states, water rights do not come automatically with the land you are buying. Nor do mineral rights, natural gas rights, petroleum rights. It is almost impossible to buy the water rights from an owner of them.
That is really bad, I feel like private entities should not be able to buy ALL OF THE WATER IN A STATE!
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There's actually a valid reason for this. Rain water restores the water table, which provides water and nutrients to plants and animals. If you bogart all of it, your local microenvironment will suffer and, eventually, die.
What even if you use it to water your garden or allotment.
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Because your country is not run by capitalists who want to own absolutely everything.
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Stupid rule, but designed to allow maximum water to fall on the land to replenish the water table.
Actually, corporations claimed water rights on vast swathes of land many years ago knowing how valuable water was in the American West. They retain those rights and enforce them vigorously even on the owners of small residential lots. For people living in those areas, water is not free-ever, not even rainwater from their own gutters.
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Where I live in Australia I had to install a rain water tank of at least 5000l in order to get a building permit to build our house. Also firefighters should be able to use that water too in case they need to.
Again, where is this illegal? I collect rain water for my garden. Have a system where the water from the guttering goes into a storage tank. No one owns that water! We pay for tap water here in South Africa, so rain water is a blessing.
Trying to claim natural resources that literally fall from the freaking sky! Typical.
In the US this is dependant on city, county, or state code. It usually is a code, not a law, and a fine can be issued.
There's actually a good reason for this in areas that have a well designed storm drain system. In these areas the water that runs off buildings and into the storm drain system generally goes to the water treatment plant to be cleaned up for municipal water supply. The idiocy of the law is that it's generally implemented based on city lines or county lines and there are number of homes within those lines that are not part of the storm drain system or municipal water supply.
How it it illegal? As far as I remember, people always used rainwater to water plants.
This is perfectly reasonable in places where the water level gets too low in summer and the land desperately needs every drop of it. If that's not the case than yea, screw that
Omg my gran had a water butt it's like breaking bad in the valleys lol
California repealed that law decades ago. But the myth persists. There's no place in the US that currently has such a law. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/states-where-it-is-illegal-to-collect-rainwater
Hold up now! So I’ve been misinformed with MANY MANY things I do this. I have a lot of cans out in the yard to collect rain water for some water for the fun of collecting and cleaning my own water.
I find this one to be questionable. Stores here sell barrels for you to collect rainwater so that you can use it when you need it (a dry spell) to water your plants. These barrels have a little spigot at the bottom for you to attach your garden hose.
Typically outlawed in the west where water is more scarce, is allowed here in the east US and especially SE US.
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It's illegal in Washington State, USA, where I live. It rains quite a bit here, too.
nope https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/states-where-it-is-illegal-to-collect-rainwater
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Credentialing laws for things that don’t carry much danger if you do them incorrectly, for example requiring a license to be a florist.
Withdrawal of care in terminal illness in some places unfortunately
allowing nature to take its course is not unethical. If someone is unrecoverably terminally ill and incompetent like in a long-term coma, the removal of artificial life support that is keeping them alive is not wrong ethically. Allow some time like 10-30 days to see if they can come out of their coma on their own. This can happen. There is no compelling ethical reason to keep someone in an unrecoverable coma indefinitely on artificial life support. Let them move on to heaven and a better life. It is actually wrong to forcibly hold them back. It is however wrong to do anything to cause an untimely death like euthanasia.
It is illegal for restaurants in Kansas to sell Cherry pie a la mode on Sunday.
in Germany it’s illegal to put hands on the steering wheel (as a passenger) even if the driver is unconscious
Uh, it is not really illegal. but you should have a good explanation, when something happens because of that. It calls "Gefährlicher Eingriff in den Straßenverkehr" and is punished with a max of 3 years in prison and/or a fine.
Choosing which public school your kid goes to, tons of ppl I know moved within the same town but 10 minutes farther, so they were meant to go to a different school, but my friends all used the old address so they could finish the year with everyone they knew
Playing on a playground after it closes, usually after 8 or 9pm
In a lot of states, you can just slam on your brakes at will, let someone rear end you, and they will be at fault in the eyes of the law.
Making an adaptation of a piece of media from your grandparents' childhood without a licence because the creator passed away less than 75 years ago.
Upgrading my old trucks exhaust with modern emissions products is a felony. I have to make it as s***ty as it was when it was built. Vented gas cap instead of charcoal canister, vented valve covers instead of a vacuum pcv for crank case blow by. And cant put on a modern obd ii catalytic converter, its a felony.
Making photocopies of sheet music.
Some people may disagree with me
This bugged the crap out of me when I was leading a high school orchestra. Sure, we'll buy the legit score for $120 or whatever, but why shouldn't I be able to make copies? The kids rarely take good care of their sheet music, and even the ones that do have to add all their notes to it. Such a scam
Pirating adobe products
There are loads of free alternatives to Adobe products. If you use Photoshop, download Gimp. It works exactly the same. The only thing you can't do (last time I checked) was work in CMYK mode, which isn't that big of a deal unless you do a lot of print work.
You will probably get a ticket if you stop traffic to hurry along a family of ducks.
Cutting the do not remove tag off a mattress.
In some states, leaving the doors on discarded refrigerators.
It is literally illegal to leave a fridge at a scrapyard without first removing the doors.
Some might say that leaving the doors on your discarded refrigerator is not morally wrong.
When I was a kid in the 90s, I remember on Sundays in the supermarket the beer and wine was roped off with signage, as alcohol wasn't sold on Sundays. I mean wtf, it's clearly a religious thing. I'm glad that law is gone, even though I can't drink personally, I don't see why it should get a blanket ban for a religion
In Texas, USA you still can’t buy spirits or liquor on Sunday. The liquor stores busiest time during the week is Monday morning because all the alcoholics rush in to re-supply.
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Picky landscaping laws. It was illegal where we used to live to have weeds or grass growing in your driveway cracks. That's just a tax on overworked people who can't keep their yard flawless. Also Sunday liquor laws. If you don't like alcohol that's fine, but banning it once a week is just ridiculous.
Perhaps a more political answer to this question would be prostitution. Having sex with others for cash is illegal in many places, but not unethical. It's shocking that it is still illegal in many places.
I agree, and the same for drugs. Legal prostitution actually drives down sexual violence, sex trafficking, especially of minors, and allows for sex workers to create a much safer working environment for themselves. SESTA/FOSTA laws actually caused an uptick in violence against sex workers because it shut down online networks that allowed workers to earn each other of dangerous johns, have a system to check in on each other, and effectively pushed minor victims even further out of sight and opportunity to escape. Dealing drugs is so violent and dangerous because of prohibition (the US seemed to learn this when it came to the white man's most profitable drug, which actually caused and causes far more damage than any other drug, which is alcohol) Drugs and prostitution are illegal in order to police black and female bodies.
Load More Replies... Death with dignity: Acquiring life-ending medication from a physician for terminally ill patients that will end your life calmly, peacefully, and at your desired time. If you have a terminal illness and you’re know you’re going to die anyway, you can die slowly and painfully while losing your faculties and abilities or I guess you can shoot yourself or take the risk and try your own drug cocktail, but a physician cannot prescribe you safe and effective medication that will precisely and delicately take you out of the world surrounded by those you love. It doesn’t make sense.
I know I'm repeating myself, but I'm so happy it has happened. 5/6 States in Australia have now legalised euthanasia for terminally ill. There are still some conditions I don't necessarily agree with within each of these states, but it is still a huge step forward. It should be legal everywhere.
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Most of these are from the us, the country where the military is more valued than doctors, where tonnes of money go to health insurers and military instead public healthcare and solve or at least diminish homelessnes, where some mawmakers make laws based on religion like if they are in the 50s and where the rich go to space for 10 minutes but make their employees pee in bottles
You forgot all the money that goes to publicly-traded hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and medical supply manufacturers. Everyone in the US is out to make money on your healthcare. Insurers are just the easiest target, but by far not the sole guilty party.
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Laws around renting your basement. I get the reasoning for many of the requirements, e.g. having fire-safe windows. But in many jurisdictions it is intentionally difficult. It needs a kitchen, they can't just share yours. It has to have a separate entrance and be completely sound-proofed from the rest of the house. The renovations required to make our house legally rentable to a friend would cost tens of thousands of dollars. In the meantime, my friend would have to sleep in the street if we couldn't offer our basement. So then, he's not allowed to give us ANY money as a thanks. If he does, our insurance becomes void and we could get in legal trouble. So while I get that landlords need to be required to meet certain standards or else they could abuse people... renting to a buddy for a few months is something that I see as completely ethical and yet illegal.
Are you allowed to rent it out if it is just considered another bedroom, with them sharing your kitchen and bathroom?
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Is it ethical to make money of people who make your success even be real. Is it ethical to know bellies are empty as you throw away food the sat rotting in your fridge. Of go see what's is going on around you? Stop and see some of the everyday hero's that ensure your life can confine in the illusion that you matter more than those who work so damn hard to stock the stuff to make your life easier and your hero's look just like you. You want to be treated with esteem? Do esteem-able acts when no one's looking. Because it's the right thing to do.
It's illegal to shoot an alligator if it's attacking you, but it's fine if it's a human. A man was arrested in Texas for shooting an alligator that was in the process of attacking his elderly father. The alligator had wandered onto their property while they were walking through a field. The man was arrested in the hospital at his father's bedside.
Lawmakers are often idiots... In my country, it is illegal to chase squatters away.
Ryan I often agree with your replies and posts but I question this one. Squatters rights only apply after 7 years of occupancy. This really begs the question of either What took you so long to get people off your property? or Why did you buy property with people who lived there but aren’t selling it to you?
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That's eugenics your advocating for. And the US had laws that allowed for forced sterilization of many people, including those you think you have the right to arbitrarily declare are "stupid". I think we all wish that all parents were competent caregivers. And there are frustratingly foolish people abounds. But, let's try to avoid inhumane suggestions like this.
Load More Replies... When I was a kid in the 90s, I remember on Sundays in the supermarket the beer and wine was roped off with signage, as alcohol wasn't sold on Sundays. I mean wtf, it's clearly a religious thing. I'm glad that law is gone, even though I can't drink personally, I don't see why it should get a blanket ban for a religion
In Texas, USA you still can’t buy spirits or liquor on Sunday. The liquor stores busiest time during the week is Monday morning because all the alcoholics rush in to re-supply.
Load More Replies... Picky landscaping laws. It was illegal where we used to live to have weeds or grass growing in your driveway cracks. That's just a tax on overworked people who can't keep their yard flawless. Also Sunday liquor laws. If you don't like alcohol that's fine, but banning it once a week is just ridiculous.
Perhaps a more political answer to this question would be prostitution. Having sex with others for cash is illegal in many places, but not unethical. It's shocking that it is still illegal in many places.
I agree, and the same for drugs. Legal prostitution actually drives down sexual violence, sex trafficking, especially of minors, and allows for sex workers to create a much safer working environment for themselves. SESTA/FOSTA laws actually caused an uptick in violence against sex workers because it shut down online networks that allowed workers to earn each other of dangerous johns, have a system to check in on each other, and effectively pushed minor victims even further out of sight and opportunity to escape. Dealing drugs is so violent and dangerous because of prohibition (the US seemed to learn this when it came to the white man's most profitable drug, which actually caused and causes far more damage than any other drug, which is alcohol) Drugs and prostitution are illegal in order to police black and female bodies.
Load More Replies... Death with dignity: Acquiring life-ending medication from a physician for terminally ill patients that will end your life calmly, peacefully, and at your desired time. If you have a terminal illness and you’re know you’re going to die anyway, you can die slowly and painfully while losing your faculties and abilities or I guess you can shoot yourself or take the risk and try your own drug cocktail, but a physician cannot prescribe you safe and effective medication that will precisely and delicately take you out of the world surrounded by those you love. It doesn’t make sense.
I know I'm repeating myself, but I'm so happy it has happened. 5/6 States in Australia have now legalised euthanasia for terminally ill. There are still some conditions I don't necessarily agree with within each of these states, but it is still a huge step forward. It should be legal everywhere.
Load More Replies... Most of these are from the us, the country where the military is more valued than doctors, where tonnes of money go to health insurers and military instead public healthcare and solve or at least diminish homelessnes, where some mawmakers make laws based on religion like if they are in the 50s and where the rich go to space for 10 minutes but make their employees pee in bottles
You forgot all the money that goes to publicly-traded hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and medical supply manufacturers. Everyone in the US is out to make money on your healthcare. Insurers are just the easiest target, but by far not the sole guilty party.
Load More Replies... Laws around renting your basement. I get the reasoning for many of the requirements, e.g. having fire-safe windows. But in many jurisdictions it is intentionally difficult. It needs a kitchen, they can't just share yours. It has to have a separate entrance and be completely sound-proofed from the rest of the house. The renovations required to make our house legally rentable to a friend would cost tens of thousands of dollars. In the meantime, my friend would have to sleep in the street if we couldn't offer our basement. So then, he's not allowed to give us ANY money as a thanks. If he does, our insurance becomes void and we could get in legal trouble. So while I get that landlords need to be required to meet certain standards or else they could abuse people... renting to a buddy for a few months is something that I see as completely ethical and yet illegal.
Are you allowed to rent it out if it is just considered another bedroom, with them sharing your kitchen and bathroom?
Load More Replies... Is it ethical to make money of people who make your success even be real. Is it ethical to know bellies are empty as you throw away food the sat rotting in your fridge. Of go see what's is going on around you? Stop and see some of the everyday hero's that ensure your life can confine in the illusion that you matter more than those who work so damn hard to stock the stuff to make your life easier and your hero's look just like you. You want to be treated with esteem? Do esteem-able acts when no one's looking. Because it's the right thing to do.
It's illegal to shoot an alligator if it's attacking you, but it's fine if it's a human. A man was arrested in Texas for shooting an alligator that was in the process of attacking his elderly father. The alligator had wandered onto their property while they were walking through a field. The man was arrested in the hospital at his father's bedside.
Lawmakers are often idiots... In my country, it is illegal to chase squatters away.
Ryan I often agree with your replies and posts but I question this one. Squatters rights only apply after 7 years of occupancy. This really begs the question of either What took you so long to get people off your property? or Why did you buy property with people who lived there but aren’t selling it to you?
Load More Replies... That's eugenics your advocating for. And the US had laws that allowed for forced sterilization of many people, including those you think you have the right to arbitrarily declare are "stupid". I think we all wish that all parents were competent caregivers. And there are frustratingly foolish people abounds. But, let's try to avoid inhumane suggestions like this.
Load More Replies...