We’ve all been faced with a moral dilemma before. Should you be honest with your partner when you know something that will hurt them? Maybe in college your best friend asked you to help them cheat while they were in danger of failing a class and having their scholarship revoked. Perhaps you caught a colleague stealing, but if you reported it, he would get fired and would be unable to pay his rent. Unfortunately, life is full of difficult decisions, and ethics are not black and white. 

What tends to be a little clearer is what is against the law, regardless of our personal feelings. 3 days ago, Reddit user Dr_vinci reached out to Ask Reddit and posed the question, “What is moral but illegal?” Readers have since flooded the responses with questionable laws that seem to contradict many people’s moral compasses. Below, you can read some of the answers, as well as an interview with Dr_vinci, and decide if you think these laws are justified or not. Then if you’d like to continue pondering the morality of certain laws, check out this Bored Panda piece next.

#1

Sleeping in your car when your too drunk to drive.

Image credits: Yuaskin

There’s no question that morals vary from person to person. Most people would be horrified if you mentioned taking your dog outside and shooting it. But when it comes to other animals, public opinion greatly varies. Ask a farmer if it’s okay to kill cattle and use their meat for food, and you’re probably going to get a different answer than if you asked a vegan the same question. Or if you asked someone who is Hindu. What’s interesting about morals is that not only do they vary across cultures and religions, but they also change over time and within the same person, depending on the gravity of a situation.

Morality is even an evolutionary trait, according to some psychologists. Dr. Jean Decety, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Chicago, wrote in an article exploring the topic, that “our morality has been formed over thousands of years from the combination of both our genes and our culture, rather than just one or the other. This genetic and cultural evolution has shaped our brains to care for others, react to those who try to harm us, and to create moral rules that help us to live together successfully.”

#2

In Japan? Recycling someone’s garbage without permission. Touching their garbage at all. You could use a discarded couch and save it from the garbage dump, but be arrested for it.

Image credits: InvisibleMe21

Dr. Decety went on to say that there are “three main lines of evidence that support the view that our brains are wired for morality”. The first being that “the building blocks of morality have been observed in non-human animals”. Rodents and primates exhibit “prosocial behaviors”, opting to help and console one another when someone is in trouble or distressed. Chimpanzees console victims after fights, and rats choose to help fellow rodents before seeking a food reward. Although monkeys and rats don’t have the same depth of moral code as humans, the fact that they display empathy towards each other suggests that morality is a product of evolution.

#3

Pirating content that has been abandoned and can’t even be purchased any more. E.g. an out of print book, or a game that isn’t sold anymore.

Image credits: ofsquire

#4

Grabbing thrown out food from a groceries shop’s dumpster.

Image credits: Clouddancerr

The next reason Dr. Decety cites to support that we are “wired for morality” is the fact that even babies exhibit early signs of having morals. Psychologists who study human development note that babies start forming social relationships before they’re even a year old. And toddlers as young as 18-months realize when their mothers are upset and try to comfort them with patting, hugging and sharing toys. Impressively, babies even understand the concept of fairness by the time they’re a year old. When a group of 1-year-olds witnessed cookies being distributed to a group, they understood and expected everyone to receive the same amount. 

#5

In some states, feeding the homeless.

Image credits: rovirb

#6

Imagine going to war at 18 for 2 and a half years and you come back home, but still can’t go get a beer.

Image credits: TheAGolds

Next, Dr. Decety mentions that “the parts of the brain involved in moral judgments are beginning to be identified”. Neuroscientists have examined how moral behaviors change in people who have brain lesions, and it has been determined that our brains don’t simply have one moral center. Various parts of the brain handle different aspects of making moral decisions (emotional reactions, self-control, intelligence, caregiving behaviors). When someone experiences trauma to their ventromedial prefrontal cortex in early childhood, they’re more likely to break moral rules and cause physical harm to others. People who have suffered damage to their ventromedial prefrontal cortex “also tend to experience less empathy, embarrassment, and guilt”.

#7

Grabbing thrown out clothes from clothing stores/furniture/appliances, brand new stuff that just didn’t sell or was out of season. Truly wasteful and probably a terrible. My mom used to drive behind strip malls with me as a kid and we’d find all sorts of good stuff, Pier 1 Imports used to have some good stuff, so did Burlington Coat Factory.

Image credits: All_Usernames_Tooken

#8

As an American doctor who takes Medicare, I am not allowed to waive fees for procedures or charge a patient less than what our officially set rates are, even if they don’t have insurance. I’m also not allowed to ask a doctor from a different practice what a certain insurance company pays them for a service, as this has been deemed “anti-trust.”

Image credits: bryantuga

We reached out to Dr_vinci to hear where the inspiration for this post came from, and he told us he had heard the question somewhere else and was so curious that he decided to start his own discussion around it. When asked if he trusts law enforcement, he told us that he still does, but that the government makes questionable calls sometimes. “I’m fairly happy with the laws we have, other than some weapon regulations.” He also notes his frustration with the banning of airsoft guns and “Black Rifle Coffee Company” due to its name. While gun control laws are a controversial topic, Dr_vinci does not consider them a moral issue. “I think there’s no problem with us having better guns or switchblades,” he told us. Whether you agree with him or not on these issues, it is a great reminder of how relative morality is.

#9

In my state, KY, it is illegal to marry the same person 3 times. So I would say that would qualify as moral but illegal.

Image credits: Amaranthe1971

While morality is in our nature, various factors play a part in moral relativism, including cultural differences. Aside from my earlier example of eating meat, a few other topics that can be controversial depending on the culture and religion are dancing, polygamy, gambling, drinking alcohol, abortion, sex before marriage, having children outside of marriage, assisted suicide and gay marriage. Many of us know exactly where we stand on those topics and may not even consider some to be moral issues, but a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center surveyed 40 countries on some of these subjects to see just how opinions varied across the world. Views on extramarital affairs, for example, were similar in most countries. But in France, only 47% of those surveyed considered having an affair unacceptable, and 40% did not consider it a moral issue at all. 

#10

Donating blood as a gay man.

Image credits: Touboku

#11

Donating unused insulin to those in need.

Image credits: Destroyette

#12

Donating unsold/uneaten food to shelters at the end of the day at a fast food joint i.e. the donuts at dunkin, we’d have to throw them out every night.

Image credits: zeroxtx

Morals also shift over time. At one point in time, unmarried men and women could not even be alone in a room together without it being considered sinful. And while slavery is now viewed as an atrocity, it was once widely accepted in the United States and many other countries. Both racism and homophobia were normalized for many years behind the guise of religious morality, but times are changing. Sadly, there is still progress to be made in combatting racism, homophobia and transphobia, but hopefully eventually, these hateful beliefs will be unanimously regarded as immoral.

#13

In many countries, being LGBT it’s illegal. Loving someone or being yourself is against the law.

Image credits: gonze11

#14

Defending against a bully in school, apparently.

Image credits: insecure_alt-acc

#15

Where I live, euthanasia. Having had to watch a relative waste away as they could no longer eat properly, had no clue who they were or who anyone else was, and was just so scared…how is making them live or wait until they starve/dehydrate the moral choice?

Image credits: MissEvieMoo

Morals can also be fluid for individuals, depending on the desperation of their current situations. When asked point-blank if stealing is wrong, most people would probably say yes. But if you ask a single mother fleeing from an abusive relationship who’s unsure where her child’s next meal will come from, she might justify stealing a sandwich from a grocery store for her daughter. Viewing morality as too black and white and ignoring the nuance of individual situations can lead to dangerous decision making.

#16

Lemonade stands. Your child’s lemonade stand can teach them valuable lessons and are pretty harmless but can be shutdown without permit and department of health inspections.

Image credits: coroff532

#17

Abortion, in lots of places.

Image credits: Traditional-Idea-39

#18

Taking a child from a abusive parent while they have custody.

Image credits: Floompydoompy

Many of the laws mentioned on Reddit may seem harmless at first glance, but they can disproportionately target poor and homeless individuals. In the United States in particular, homelessness has been notoriously criminalized, despite the fact that there are over 550,000 people without homes. Being homeless itself is not illegal, but there are plenty of restrictions around where individuals can camp, loiter, and panhandle. Many businesses also will not allow people to use their restrooms without purchasing something first, leaving homeless people with no access to toilets and running water.

#19

In many countries speaking out against the malicious and corrupt actions of the government would certainly fall under the category of moral but illegal.

Image credits: HappiHappiHappi

#20

In my country, feeding street dogs.

Image credits: Fruit_Punch96

#21

You can be fined 135 € for giving food to (non-ukrainian) refugees in Calais, France.

The irony is that the fine for giving food to pigeons in the same city is ~100 €.

Image credits: systemasis

Taking food out of trash cans and picking up clothes retailers dump behind their stores seem like perfectly harmless ways for the poor to gain resources and reduce waste, but even those acts are illegal in certain places. With no access to food and no money for clothing, it’s ridiculous to criminalize acts of survival. Even those who have cars but are living in poverty are faced with a mountain of restrictions. It can be extremely challenging to find places that allow overnight parking, and sleeping in a car is illegal in many places as well, with the risk of racking up exorbitant parking tickets. For individuals who don’t feel safe returning home, perhaps due to an abusive partner or parent, they should feel secure knowing that there is somewhere to go.

#22

Telling prospects looking for an apartment if there are kids living upstairs.

#23

Allowing the homeless to live in empty and/or abandoned buildings.

Image credits: gofyourselftoo

#24

Apparently eating ice cream while walking down bank street on a Sunday is still considered illegal! Gotta love old laws

Lastly, sometimes individuals need to break laws intentionally to fight against discrimination. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested five times during his life, fighting for equality. Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting in New York in 1872. In 2020, over 17,000 people were arrested during Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd. In times of injustice, doing something illegal can be the best way to illustrate your strong morals.

#25

In the US in some states I believe, it’s illegal to stop your car if you see a cat in the road.

#26

In my country, it is illegal to offer a lift in a private vehicle.

#27

Grabbing your elderly neighbors mail out of the mailbox for them.

While we can be certain that morals will never be universally agreed upon, let’s not forget that it’s okay to question the laws that are in place. Sure, we agree to abide by them, but that does not require abandoning critical thinking. Let’s all weigh the pros and cons of breaking some silly laws, and consider what our consciences think. I listened, and my conscience is saying that adding a quarter to someone else’s parking meter will bring some good karma.

Have you ever been caught breaking a law by doing something you considered moral? We’d love to hear about it in the comments, and don’t forget to upvote all of the responses you found most shocking.

#28

A city in my state was having a city cleanup, where they put stuff on their curb to send to the landfill, Fridges appliances couches etc. the city workers reminded everyone it was “illegal” to take these instead of letting the city workers pick them up.

Image credits: ChamberlainSD

#29

Any form of nonviolent resistance.

If you’re born into a country where the government has arrogated to itself a monopoly on violence, you really have no option except nonviolent resistance/protest.

Image credits: mrgabest

#30

Taking broken apple products, salvaging the parts that still work, and then selling the refurbished parts to someone in another country.

Image credits: Emergency_Paperclip

#31

In Russia now: talking about PEACE and STOPPING WAR. Lots of examples when people are getting arrested because it counts as “justification of Nazism” or “humiliation of russian army and special operation”. Savage.

Image credits: r0b_b0TT

#32

Breaking a car window to save a dog in a hot car.

#33

In Germany: putting your empty beer bottle next to the trash can in cities instead of into the trash can. It’s in principle littering, but it makes it so bottle collectors don’t have to crawl through the trash (there is a deposit on the bottles).

Image credits: Shinlos

#34

Publishing evidence of government war crimes and other illegal activity.

#35

Collecting rain water in my state.

Image credits: Ginger_Anarchy

#36

Sharing medication. I understand that it can be dangerous in some circumstances. But, for example, I work in childcare, and if a child was dying of an asthma attack, I wouldn’t be allowed to share my inhaler to potentially save their life. Most people with asthma use the exact same medication, and I don’t think a couple of pumps of inhaler would endanger anyone unless they’re severely allergic. If I was ever actually in that situation, I think I’d struggle not to share mine. Having the life-saving medication right there and not being allowed to use it seems crazy to me.

Image credits: vario_

#37

Running a Red Light if someone’s life depended on it.

#38

Avoiding a draft.

#39

Letting the unhoused sleep in their cars or have a camp setup.

We could just provide basic services and housing for folks but since we as a society refuse…

#40

Denmark:

Taking back in items once trashed by you or others (for reuse, for example if someone threw a piece of furniture out that you want to have)

Signaling (with headlights) oncoming vehicles that they’re missing a light

Honking if the car in front of you hasn’t noticed the traffic light has become green

#41

Consensual sex work.

#42

Be a russian politician against Putin.

#43

I haven’t seen this one..

Stealing an abused animal, I understand ‘stealing’ is illegal, but there’s a lot of animals and pets the world that aren’t taken care of, or abused, so people who want to help them don’t have a way to do it without possibly taking the animal into proper care.

#44

Self defense in half of America. Unless your assailant survives and admits in court to attacking you specifically at your trial…

#45

Banksy artwork.

#46

Saying gay in FL, assisting trans kids in TX and ID, protecting womens lives with medical care, etc

#47

Beating the living daylights out of someone who breaks into your home.

#48

Refilling parking meters for other people.

Years ago, I worked in an affluent town where parking spots where at a premium. This town also had a notoriously efficient parking enforcement troupe. As I mentioned this was an affluent town, so the real crimes (domestic abuse, assaults, etc.) were rarely reported to keep property values high…

I digress.

Sometimes I would get to park a block or two out of my way to park on a residential street that didn’t require a permit. Otherwise I would be forced to feed the meter two dollars for two hours, then after four dollars for four hours if you didn’t move your car then you would find a citation on your windshield without exception.

So, I would take the change out of my cup holders when I had some and feed meters I saw going low in my walk to work.

One day this parking attendant saw me from across the street feeding a meter, and shouted for me to stay where I was. She darted towards me completely ignoring the crosswalk (haha). Asked me if that was my car, I asked, what did that matter?

She persisted in my answering her question, but ignoring mine. So, I just told her I had to get to work and went about my day.

The NEXT day it was like a sting operation, I fed two quarters into a meter I saw had only twenty minutes remaining. No sooner did I turn the handle than she came up behind me from the side alley.

She’s shouting at me like I had smashed storefront windows with Molotovs. Next thing I know she is berating me about how much I was costing her personally and the town in lost revenue by doing this for the past few weeks. She wrote me a damn citation for almost a hundred dollars.

I of course went to the magistrate to fight it and he dismissed it without a thought. Felt good until she found out what car was mine and was Johnny on the spot with parking tickets from then on.

Fun Fact:

The town soon after raised enough money to install digital solar powered meters. So they could just automatically fine you the microsecond the time limit lapsed. However, by accident I realized that the machines where inoperable on overcast days.

So, on my way home from work (town was almost deserted by 9pm) I took egg and charcoal from the kitchen I worked and would rub that s**t on every meter I walked by.

Never once was I stopped for vandalism.

Image credits: BigKitchen84

#49

In these countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Ghana, Grenada, Jamaica, Nigeria, Oman, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe) it’s illegal to wear camo.

#50

Lying to the police. After all, they can lie to you.

#51

Stealing food from Walmart because you’re starving.

#52

Tax evasion.

#53

Giving thirsty people water in election lines in a certain state in the United States.

#54

Whistleblowing. Supposedly legal…but you know the drill.

#55

Fixing someone’s car in an apartment parking lot. They have to get to work.

#56

Pirating Adobe products. It’s always morally correct

#57

Removing those metal beams that stop homeless people from sleeping on park benches.

#58

Stashing water and food on the USA-Mexico borders desert area.

#59

In Europe, rescuing african people adrift in the mediterranean to prevent them from drowning.

#60

Flashing your high-beams to warn oncoming drivers they are approaching a speed trap.

#61

It’s not exactly good samaritan moral but smoking Marijuana is still illegal in most of the developed world, despite all the scientific studies showing it’s lack of negative consequences.

#62

hanging anything in your rear view mirror while driving (those car scent things)

#63

Minor rule-breaking like jaywalking in a quiet residential neighborhood, putting a dog poop bag in a 7-11 dumpster, playing with your dog off leash in an empty park, etc. The people in my neighborhood HATE all of these things but like… What’s the harm. C’mon.

#64

Overthrowing the government.

#65

Selling drugs to adults. The adults are fully aware that they are buying drugs, they’re aware of the results of taking the drugs and have consenting to those things when buying the drugs. The drug dealer is only selling a product to people who want it and usually seek the drug dealer out for that sole purpose.

Obviously pushing drugs is wrong and selling drugs to anyone underage is also wrong, but what consenting adults choose to do to themselves should be entirely up to them.

For anyone who says drugs fund worse crimes, they only do that BECAUSE they’re illegal. That means the illegality is at fault for that, not the drug sales.

#66

Allowing your child to have gender affirming healthcare in texas.

#67

Registering your child in a different school district for better benefits, whilst also being in a different district. This can cause people to be charged with fraud(which makes absolutely no sense).

#68

Driving with an expired license, you can be the safest driver ever and havya flawless record, you’ll still get a really unfair punishment in some US States such a Virginia.

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