The Individual Vs. The State, An Unusual Case

[Kevin]

So you'd rather someone dictate to you want you can and cannot do when your actions have no harmful affects on others or yourself?

And you think that disposing of rotting corpses in residential areas won't have any harmful effects? There are good reasons why there are laws against doing that, and they're not there to curb people's individual freedoms.

Perhaps a better solution would be to allow people to apply for permission to inter corpses on private property, so that the site can be inspected by health officials to ensure that it's not on top of a water supply, or in some other area that could cause harmful effects.

Freedom is a wonderful thing, but take a moment to think of the stupidest, most irresponsible person you know, and think "Do I really want this guy to be able to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants?"

After his wife died on April 18, 2009, the City Council rejected Davis' request for a cemetery permit. The decision came even though the county health department signed off on the residential burial, saying it wouldn't cause any sanitation problems.

So he didn't just do whatever he wanted willy-nilly. He did apply to the city council to be allowed to and was rejected, even though the site was inspected and declared OK. He defied and the city lawyer brought a case against him.