I Just Found This Online (About The Role Of Government In Morality And Religious Matters).

I just found this online now:

AI Overview

Whether sexual morality is the correct role for government is a deeply contested philosophical and legal debate, with arguments centered on individual liberty versus societal values, public health, and harm prevention; while some argue the government should enforce morality for social order (legal moralism), many modern legal systems, particularly in the U.S., lean towards limiting government intervention in private sexual conduct, focusing instead on preventing direct harm, protecting minors, and ensuring public health, rather than enforcing a specific religious or traditional sexual code.

Arguments for Government Involvement (Legal Moralism)

Public Order & Tradition: Proponents argue that regulating sexual conduct upholds societal norms, traditions, and religious values crucial for social stability, as seen in debates over marriage or prostitution.

Preventing Harm: Even if not purely "moral," governments often regulate sexual activity based on perceived harms, such as exploitation in sex work or non-consensual acts.

Arguments Against Government Involvement (Liberal View/Privacy)

Individual Liberty: A core principle in many liberal democracies is that private, consensual sexual acts between adults should not be the state's concern, emphasizing personal autonomy.

Separation of Church & State: In the U.S., laws cannot be based on religious morality that coerces citizens of different faiths (or no faith) to conform to one group's beliefs.

Focus on Harm, Not Morality: Legal systems increasingly distinguish between private, consensual acts (which are protected) and behaviors that cause direct harm to others (which are regulated).

Legal & Constitutional Perspectives (U.S.)

Privacy Rights: The Supreme Court has recognized a right to privacy, limiting government intrusion into sexual activity, though its scope for minors or non-traditional acts remains debated.

Shifting Views: U.S. law has moved away from using morality as the sole justification for criminalizing private sexual behavior (like sodomy laws), often invalidating such laws.

Conclusion

The trend in many democratic nations is to narrow the government's role in enforcing sexual morality, shifting focus to protecting individuals from harm, exploitation, and ensuring public health, while respecting private, consensual choices, but the debate over where to draw the line between morality and liberty continues.

 

This makes the matter interesting in that we are, supposedly, given the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness so, as such, government intervention into matters that aren't any of its business contradicts this given right, doesn't it? I remember, many years ago, a debate that pointed out that we the people of these United States are not guaranteed the right to privacy which eventually got to SCOTUS, who said that yes, or right to privacy is recognized. As such, a lot of morality-based laws, like sodomy, were deemed to be unenforceable because to be able to enforce those laws called for violating privacy even though such laws remain on the books of many states and some are modified for situations where a crime, i.e., rape, has been committed.

I'm just wondering why an AI was called on to say something about this...