Peeing on the street isn't very dangerous, but we ban that. Public nudity isn't dangerous at all, but again, we ban it. Sometimes manners need to be legislated. "Danger" is actually kind of rare- until you get in the car, or go in to your house- but the little things people do, that are unmannerly, can effect us tremendously. Even though it isn't dangerous, it probably has a big effect on people if they see their neighbors urinating on the public streets. It contributes to a feeling of squalor. While I can see courts granting extreme deference for acts that are like speech which occur in the public square, I don't see the need for such deference for acts that are more purely physical. I don't think sexual acts, though they hurt no one, need to go on in public, or urination (even though sometimes you could certainly make a statement with it), or smoking, or other acts that we could say are better carried out in one's own home.
I don't see what's ugly about that. Obviously it's hard on people who want to copulate in public, or pee on the street, or smoke (although I'd argue that smoking, unlike copulation, is going to actually physically affect other people since the smoke really does get in your eyes...)
Could you explain what's ugly about it? |
