> This issue is symptomatic of an underlying problem for me: we do not regularly re-evaluate laws to see if they are having the intended effect.
Even the Constitution. It was intended to be revisited for appropriateness and currency every 20 years.
Instead, a significant number of people, including some on the Supreme Court, believe that the Founding Fathers[1] could speak no wrong words and that the Constitution is the perfect document, to be taken at its word, with no deviation, until the end of time.
[1] Pop Quiz: "How old were the Founding Fathers when they signed the Declaration of Independence and crafted the Constitution?" You'd be forgiven for thinking they were world-weary, wizened old men. In fact, the majority were under forty. Indeed, it was also signed by a sixteen-year-old, a 21-year-old, two 26-year-olds, a 27-year-old, and a 29-year-old.
Yes but the life expectancy was only 35 so in relative terms they were all senior.