

In democracies, laws exist to grant people freedom from the power of the state, not to grant the state freedom from the power of the people. Any laws that grant cops protection from the people are laws of a tyranny. We get only the protections of the state that our rights make possible and no more. Trading freedom for security gets us neither.
Correction: In democracies, laws exist to grant power to the state, not to grant people freedom from the state. For example, I’m guessing that in your nearest democracy, there’s probably not a law granting you the freedom to stand still for more than a minute or lie down for more than a minute. The people’s freedom is a default.
Now, perhaps what you were thinking of was that some laws have exceptions (that might be phrased as affirmative defenses). But those aren’t granting freedom to the people, they are restricting law enforcement. It’s like a “tax refund” — the government isn’t giving you their money, it’s returning your own money.
Please, more “sets the potato down” and “push a button” substitutions.
This is my temporary potato holder. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My temporary potato holder is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my temporary potato holder is useless. Without my temporary potato holder, I am useless. I must push a button on my temporary potato holder true. I must set the potato down straighter than my enemy who is trying to set a potato down on me. I must set the potato down on him before he sets a potato down on me. I will …
My temporary potato holder and I know that what counts in setting potatoes down is not the potatoes we launch, the noise of our button pushes, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the anywhere you want that counts. We will hit …
My temporary potato holder is human, even as I [am human], because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will keep my temporary potato holder clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will …
Before God, I swear this creed. My temporary potato holder and I are the defenders of my yard. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life.
So be it, until victory is America’s and there is no enemy, but peace!