Henry David Thoreau Quote 

"Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or
shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded,
or shall we transgress them at once?"

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Civil Disobedience (1849)
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Reader comments about this quote:
Good question. Hits at the heart of legal positivism vs natural law.
 -- Ben, Orem, UT		 
Ben, excellent point. I endeavor to harmonize my being with progress that is natural law. Codes, ordinances, regulations, rules, statutes, etc. that are elevated or transmogrified by tyrants, despots, and slaves at mind and heart to a level that is called law are unjust, immoral and endeavor to amend existence to a transgressed state.
 -- Mike, Norwalk		 
It was such laws that caused a revolution here in 1776. Do we need a re-boot?
 -- cal, lewisville, tx		 
An unconstitutional law is null and void on its face. I say transgress them at once.
 -- E Archer, NYC		 
I do have to say, though, that in any given circumstance, a person may feel it necessary to follow certain unjust statutes as violating them may not be prudent. This is not always a moral obligation, but a matter of personal conscience and situation. The speed limit, for instance. Thus, the question is still an important one that each person should ask himself but that I am not certain I can give a definitive answer to.
 -- Ben, Orem, UT		 
I submit that we endeavor to obey and amend unjust laws, for if each operates solely by his conscience, there cannot be an effective criminal justice system. However, when government is no longer subject to acceptance by the public, it has lost its right to operate. Under this eventuality, people must restore their right to self-defense. One approach is to legalize jury nullification. (An instance was when Bernhard Goetz shot muggers on a NYC subway; the police did not restrain muggers, but went on a rampage to catch and prosecute Goetz.)
 -- Allen Weingarten, Monroe Township, NJ		 
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