Moral Legislation

I've actually been thinking about this topic since it's been brought up a bit lately. I'm sure that I have many conflicting thoughts about it, but today I have two things to say:

1) It is not the job of the government or the Church to make a bunch of rules about what people should or should not be doing. They are to be examples of what is right, and the Church is supposed to love people and bring them to Christ. I understand that government has a protective role and that could get murky, but I guess that I am in the conservative camp of "no big government" on this one.
Y'all know that I love California, but just in my short time here I see how it could turn into a police state "for your own good" down the road. Example? Sure. I gave blood the other day and I noticed that it there is a state law mandating that you stay in the canteen area for 15 minutes after giving blood. A STATE LAW!!!

2) I don't know if this conflicts with or goes right along with my point above, but this just made me laugh my butt off: The headline on MSNBC.com says "Brangelina won't marry until all couples can."
Well, bully for them. Their respective histories display an obvious reverence for the institution of marriage. I guess that my main point is the self-importance and delusional tendencies of stars.

Update on Sept. 11, 2006 6:42 PM

I understand that the example I gave of the California law isn't "moral" legislation, it's simply stupid, but I guess that I feel it veers towards morality by trying to tell people what to do down to a micro-managed level. I am also aware that there are many conflicts to be had in this area and the whole concept of Government's role as protector.

The law about giving blood gets into the "my body, my choice" area, which can go in many different directions. My parents get completely bent out of shape by the seatbelt law, but I don't think that they want abortion to continue to be legal. The junior college here is now a non-smoking campus. I hate smoking, don't want to be around it, and I'm absolutely thrilled that there is no smoking in any bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, etc in California, but the entire campus being smoke free just rubs me slightly the wrong way.

We live in a fallen world and it is never going to be perfect. I don't expect that I or anyone else will ever have the exact solution, much less that any government will approach the ideal in this regard. It seems that we just have to roll with it and pray for wisdom for picking our battles, because for every law that I think is ridiculous and insulting, there were obviously enough people that did not think so who could be just as passionate about it.

Here is an article of partial relevancy to this topic and a whole 'nother can of worms. It's at Christianity Today. (What else do I read, seriously?)