I find it hard to believe that there are actually people in the world who believe that so-called “needle exchange” charities should be illegal, but I do live in Texas, so I’m not that surprised. Conservatives here care more about enforcing Christian morality -at the point of the government’s gun- than they do about freedom for the rational individual.
The underlying principle controlling the issue of “clean needle” charities is private property rights. An individual has an absolute, inalienable right to be free to create, gain, keep, sell, and exchange property. This means that individuals should be free to create any substance they want, or any device they want, and to sell or give them away under whatever terms they choose. In practice, this means any private group that wants to give away syringe needles should be free to do so. Law enforcement in such circumstances should be limited to ensuring that the private property rights of others are not violated, which means, for instance, that people obtaining clean needles in that area shouldn’t be allowed to trespass on the private property of neighbors to the private charity. The fact that such private “clean needle” charities help to reduce the spread of disease is a logical consequence of greater freedom. Socialism, more specifically, governmental violations of private property rights, always creates death and misery. Freedom creates the social conditions necessary for promoting man’s life.
