So perhaps it is up to the neighbors, who I agree are harmed, to "fine" the irresponsible person through a lawsuit. I assume the purpose of a fine by the government is to discourage similar acts in others. I just don't think that is a proper function of government, jbrenner.

Thank you williamshipley. You expressed my point well.

All of us at some time or in some way are weak.

Your point is granted, but does not the entire neighborhood around the snake owner's home suffer consequences through an increased reasonable fear of going outside? Here in Florida we know to expect gators and the occasional snake, but a king cobra is enough for me to keep kids indoors moreso than I otherwise would. In that respect, the freedom to travel of neighbors has been infringed even if no one is bitten. The professor who runs our transmission electron microscope facility along with me is a snake vision expert. Most of his snakes don't scare me, but his king cobra most certainly does. The speed at which snakes attack is quite remarkable.

The biggest difference between guns, prescription meds, and knives vs. snakes is that the snake is a living, mobile threat. The other items have to be used by a human being to be a threat. Presumably that human being is capable of acting on his/her own responsibly.

Mama, a snake like that doesn't 'cause harm'...it kills, almost instantly. There's no fixing that kind of harm, lawsuit or otherwise.

That's the essence of it. However, if the snake bites and kills my child, the owner being fined or imprisoned does me no good. Short of being in a zoo, that snake doesn't belong in a private residence. That's even worse than an individual having 50 pounds or so of C4 in a garage.

I think the trigger is the phrase "protection of the weak" as if there is a special class that needs protection.

Everyone needs protection from superior force.

That's simply restating what I said.

I have a right to my property. If someone stronger or better armed comes to take it, it's the responsibility of government to either prevent it of have my property returned and/or I be made whole. The opposite is anarchy.

The organizing principle of any society is the protection of the weak. That gives me the willies. How about the organizing principle is the protection of rights.

My thinking was that the snake owner would be sued after his negligence caused harm, by the person who was harmed. Otherwise the government can fine me if I lose my gun. Or what if I misplace prescription meds? They have great potential for harm. Or maybe I should be required to lock up my knives at all times.

We agree on the purple playset. Code enforcement by homeowners associations are a plague.

As for the dangerous reptiles, I do not think that the government should have control over our lives, as Mamaemma said. However, I think SaltyDog's point was that the king cobra snake owner wasn't even fined for letting his snake go into the wild. This is a form of gross negligence or reckless endangerment that a society can reasonably sanction the former owner after the negligence.

But what you're describing is anarchy, and I want no part in it.

The organizing principle of any society is the protection of the weak, and at some point and in some areas of our lives, we're all weak. As to government overreach, that almost seems inevitable any more.

Not in the least. The principle is what power the government should have to control our lives. If you want to grant power to the government for what you consider a worthy purpose, then you cede power for any purpose.

I have to respectfully disagree with you there, Mama. One is an inanimate purple swing set and slide in someone's back yard, the other one of the deadliest serpents on the planet, now loose in an urban environment near at least one school. I shot a coral snake in my front yard several years ago. I never once felt the need to blast a swing set. Venomous snakes is where the philosophical discussion ends. Or at least gets put on pause.

I think what you are saying is that the government should leave the homeowners with the purple playset alone, but should control the ownership of dangerous reptiles. Am I right? Because I don't think it should control either one.