What is your perspective on a government permitting activities that are technically illegal? (mander.xyz)

submitted 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) by iii@mander.xyz to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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A notable example is the approach to soft drugs in the Netherlands. Despite being illegal, the public prosecutor has chosen not to enforce the law. To the point that many if not most think they're legal.

This situation presents a complex issue to me: it involves a small group of individuals (the prosecutor's office) effectively deciding to disregard the broader democratic process and the will of the voters. When such things happen, I believe they should be rare, pragmatic and temporary.

What's your view on the matter?

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[-] gibmiser@lemmy.world 12 points 22 hours ago

One of the reasons immigration is so fucked in the US is because of selective enforcement of the immigration laws that occurred for decades.

Just fix the law or risk a new administration coming in and deciding to start enforcing the laws as you have to watch the chaos and pain.

[-] DecaturNature@yall.theatl.social 4 points 19 hours ago

The 'selective enforcement' occurred because strict enforcement would be much more expensive than what anyone wanted -- yet a fanatical minority was able to play games in Congress to repeatedly block bipartisan deals for "comprehensive immigration reform" (under Bush, Obama, and Biden).

[-] princessnorah 1 points 3 hours ago

It's always confused me how USians refer to different congressional periods as happening "under" certain presidents as if they have any actual part to play in the legislative process itself. I live in a country where the head of government is the Prime Minister, whose equivalent would be the House Majority Leader, and actually has a lot to say about the legislative agenda.

this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2025

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