Do you believe it is always wrong to break the law?

[SotiCoto]

Are you one of those people who believe that anything illegal is automatically wrong to do (or even more extreme, that illegal things "cannot" be done)?
Or do you believe that ethics and laws are entirely separate matters, and that sometimes it is more ethical to break a law than to follow it (the old classic about stealing food or medicine for a dying family member comes to mind)?
If I might take it even a step further, is there anyone else who believes that sometimes it is unethical NOT to break the law... for instance if the law is tyrannical oppression that only exists to cause suffering?

[Orion84]

I believe that laws and morals are two completely different things.

Laws can be immoral, and morals can be unlawful. It's similar to being in the military; a soldier is supposed to follow orders, but they shouldn't follow every order blindly, either.

I believe that you can morally break the law, if you feel strongly that it's necessary, but you also have to be willing to accept the consequences of doing so, even if you believe that law to be immoral.

There are plenty of examples of people throughout history breaking laws they felt were immoral, or unjust. Sometimes they are punished, sometimes not. Sometimes history refers to them as traitors, and some as heroes, but those people did what they thought was right.

[Lliam]

What's legal and what's moral aren't always the same.

Segregation laws in the U. S. were immoral and had to be challenged.
Women had to break the law to gain equality.
There are lots of examples of stupid, arbitrary or even wicked laws.

[purplepoppy]

It's OK to brake the law if ir targets those who cause the problem. Innocent people shouldn't get caught up in it.

[andreasderjuengere]

See my name card:

[OneViewpoint]

I have flexible and situational morality and ethics. So maybe I'm not the person to ask.

[NathanDavis]

I've done wrong things for good reasons...

[LiaRaven]

Not always