Do you think laws take away our freedoms? Or give us the right to be free?

Please explain.

I say this, laws give us the freedom to do what right, humans honestly can't be trusted to do what right on there own. Since the beggining of time, every animal has had at least this instinct,self preservation, by what ever means nessecary.

Will add on based on others comments.

you are completly right and laws are here to protect us....

wow we can be a danger to our selves........

I like how law prohibits weed and not cigarettes. Both or none plz.

I say it's both, but it's kinda hard to explain.

Yeah, but the law isn't very effective. Weed is everywhere, the cops catch some of it, but not enough to stop its easy distribution. Cigarettes would most likely go into the same business. Along with beer awhile back, people know that people want it. If they don't get caught its a huge, profitable business. The government had to get rid of its law on making alcohol illegal because they couldn't stop its distribution.

I'm not defending smoking, I hate people who smoke more than everything else. I just don't really foresee a law against it having much effect.

Laws help society run smoothly for us, so we can live our lives more freely.

Well, on what Bk is saying, no matter what, crimainal behavior will happen. It's inevitable. Laws help deter such behavior and help others know what they should/can do. On the topic Swords seems to be setting, they are not inteded to take away freedom, just to tell us that something is not OK. Seriously, you could read the laws in the US and think that we have absolutely no freedom until you realize the laws prohibit what you shouldn't be doing anyway. Actually, that makes me think of something else. Now matter how just and proper laws are, there will be someone who says, "WTWP?>!?!? That is SO unfair!!" Seriously, that would happen if there was a law that you couldn't pay more than $28 dollars for a piece of gum <<

Come to think of it, I'm surprised DH didn't start this topic >>

(I meant to post in this, but I never got the chance. And now I see why this board is sometimes hardly considered "intelligent"... No offense.)

Laws don't take away our freedom; rather, they keep us from going overboard with it. Rights granted by the 1st amendment more than anything else are often abused like hell and taken the wrong way. Someone vandalizing a wall with racial slurs or other nonsense, for example, could try to use that pathetic "Freedom of speech!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111!!!!1!1!1!1!!!1!" bs to try to worm out of trouble, but they fail to realize that vandalism is an entirely separate law from the first amendment.

Just my outlook.

the problem with laws is that people in power change them or maneuver around them to get more power, if it continues our politicians will become the new USSR.
But they do keep us safe for now.