Readers ask: What should a citizen do about an unjust law?

What should citizens do if they believe a law is unjust?

Quotation: ” If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.”

How should unjust laws be broken?

One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.

Is it right to break an unjust law?

In short, if anybody ever has a right to break the law, this cannot be a legal right under the law. It has to be a moral right against the law. And this moral right is not an unlimited right to disobey any law which one regards as unjust.

Do you have a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws?

“One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. Read more quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.

What does an unjust law is no law at all mean?

One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.” An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.

What are some examples of unjust laws in the United States today?

Money Bail. Private Bail Companies. Suspended Drivers Licenses. Excessive Mandatory Minimum Sentences. Wealth-Based Banishment That Outlaws Low-Income Housing. Private Probation Abuses. Parking Tickets to Debtors’ Prison. Sex Offense Registration Laws.

What is a unjust law?

An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law,” King responded. “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” And he concluded the point, by invoking St.

What laws are broken the most?

The 5 Most Frequently Broken Laws Underage Drinking. According to SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), about 26% of the under-21 crowd uses alcohol at least once a month. Littering. Littering is a crime throughout the entire United States, and the fines involved can be quite large. Smoking Marijuana. Jaywalking. Pirating music.

What makes something unjust?

The definition of unjust is something unfair or not morally right. If an innocent man is found guilty because the police lied, this is an example of an unjust verdict. Being in violation of principles of justice or fairness; unfair.

What is King’s claim about unjust laws?

King’s supporting claim is “[a]n unjust law is a code that the majority inflicts on a minority that is not binding on itself” (par. 14). It could be paraphrased as, “an unjust law is a rule that the majority makes the minority follow, even though the majority does not have to obey this rule.

When faced with an unjust law MLK would hold that expressing highest respect for the law requires?

“An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law ” – Martin Luther King, Jr.