I’ve lost hope that American society will ever say to any significant degree that there are too many laws. I think it’s some bizarre combination of addiction and apathy.

I have a pair of good walkie-talkies. They’re GMRS radios, but several times more powerful than the $29.95 Best Buy blister-pack ones. They’re occasionally handy, and I like having them around in case we ever lose telephone infrastructure for an extended period.

You’re supposed to get an FCC license to transmit on GMRS frequencies. It’s something like $80 for five years, and there’s no test or anything; the license is yours for the asking and the money. Thing is, almost nobody gets one. Whenever I have my radios out, I almost always hear traffic that I know is illegal. But enforcement is essentially impossible, so people say the hell with it.

So am I a patsy for holding a license? Maybe I am. But at least I’m not being punished for trying to follow the law, which is exactly what’s happening to Colorado woman Kris Holstrom right now.

Holstrom applied for a water right to harvest the rainwater that falls on her house. The state rejected her application, arguing that said rainwater would eventually feed a nearby river, and there was already a water right for the river water.

So according to the state of Colorado, the rain that falls on a person’s house does not belong to that person.

It’s easy to say she should have just done it in the first place. How in the world would she get caught? But she certainly can’t do it now, as she could be fined $500 daily. (This is for getting rain from her own roof. Did I mention that already?) Do read the piece. The absurdity is crushing.

Now clearly, the impossibility of effective enforcement shouldn’t itself determine whether a law is reasonable. That slope is far too slippery. However, when it’s coupled with active torment of those seeking to comply with it, is that enough?

And hey, is there a gun law parallel here?

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