PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL LAW: Rights Cannot Contradict Each Other

It is a fundamental principle of Natural Law that rights can intersect, but they cannot contradict each other.  Our society no longer understands this, and it has lead people to claim rights that do not exist while denying rights that are fundamental to the being of every human being.

First, rights can intersect.  My right to exercise my free will can overlap with your right to exercise your free will.  It is from this area — where our Natural Rights overlap — that morality is derived.  I have explained it here.  But this is the part where most people get confused.  Just because our rights overlap, this does not mean that they can negate the rights of another person.  The homosexual agenda is a perfect example of what I mean.

So long as we do not cause physical harm to another person, or trample on their ability to exercise their free will, you and I have a Natural Right to worship as we see fit.  It is inherent in the right to conscience.  Also inherent in this right is the right to actually live our lives according to our beliefs.  Again, so long as we are not sacrificing people, or enslaving them, we have a Natural Right to live our lives according to the principles of our faith.  So, in the case of the Christian bakery, that owner has a Natural Right to refuse to make a wedding cake for a homosexual wedding.  At the same time, the homosexual couple does not have a right to force the bakery to do so.  In that case, the bakery owner would be forced to act against his or her will and his or her religious convictions.  This would be two violations of Natural Law, and it is the primary reason that we know the homosexual couple cannot claim a right to force the bakery to bake their cake.

Now, I understand there will be objections to this, but those objections are all based on attempts to rationalize the trampling of another person’s rights.  First, you and I do not have a Natural Right to force someone to pay us for permission to open a business.  Since we do not have a right to do so, we cannot grant to the power to do so to the State.  Therefore, the State cannot force a person to pay it to open a business.  This is inherent in the Social Contract.  However, when the government forces a person to buy a license so they may attempt to earn a living, this is exactly what the government is doing: it is trampling the Natural Right of the individual.  The government’s sole purpose is to protect those rights.  So, by forcing a person to get a business license before they can earn a living, the State violates the Social Contract and tramples the Natural Rights of the business owner.

Second, by making it mandatory that the business owner must serve any and all customers, the State violates the individual’s Natural Rights to Contract, Freedom of Association, Conscience and Free Will.  You and I cannot force another to work for us.  This is defined as slavery and/or indentured servitude.  These are both violations of Natural Law, and when the State commits them, they are still violations of Natural Law.

Finally, there is no harm done to the homosexual couple by the baker.  The couple is free to find another bakery.  Their free will has not been trampled.  All that has happened is the first baker has exercised his/her Natural Right to refuse association or to Contract with the homosexual couple.

There are many such confusions in our society today, and many of them are the result of ignorance in our society.  Had our schools done their job and taught people how to think (not what to think), and explained the principles by which Rights are derived, we would have far fewer problems today.  But then, the people who benefit from this confusion would have far less power, so I guess properly educating the masses just won’t do.

By the way: that is another violation of Natural Law — using the public schools to indoctrinate children instead of educating them.  And yes, this causes real tangible harm to both the taxpayer and the child.