Hi Janis,
   Hope the weather has been treating you well.  I personally belief
that it is not so much up to the individual when the government can't or
won't do any thing but up to the individual to act in a proper fashion
regardless of the government's actions.  There is a whole can of worms
worth of issues connected here.  First off we have to look at the
perceived role of the government.  Do we really want a government that
removes the resposibility of decision making from the individual?
Images of "Brave New World" and "1984" come to mind along with most
americans perceptions of the former soviet union.  Is it the role of
government to legislate all aspects of moral practice, ie do we want to
be able to use the system to punish those who do not act like we think
they should?  In certain cases I'm sure that we do but do we want to
extend that power beyond a reasonable set of limits?  Germany under the
NAZI's would be a good example of a government overstepping its
reasonable limits.  Assuming that you feel the need for limits is the
issue at hand in or out of these bounds?  What if the government were to
set up laws that required its citizens to act in a fashion outside of
their moral code, once again NAZI Germany comes to mind, should they
comply with the laws or their morals?  At the war trials after world war
II most of the world decided that individuals were resposible for their
own actions, regardless of law and policy, and found a number of former
NAZI's guilty of war crimes, justly so by and large, even though it was
established that they were in deed following the governmental policy.
Fianally, part of the bottom line for a lawmaker is how feasible a law
is to enforce.  I agree with Lee on this issue that even if there were a
law it would be at best cost prohibitive to enforce.
     Oh well, once again I seem to have given a twenty minute oration on
a two second question.  To summerize I guess I would have to say that no
I don't believe that governmental intervention is the first step in
establishing changes, individual changes are.  The government should
reserve intervention until such time as the issue represents a
sufficient social concern of the proper type.  Considering the amount of
positive changes that we have seen in recent years though I think that
education and the power of individual change can certainly go quite a
ways.
     Be wet and well.
Dennis
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