What Is the Difference Between Individual Rights Perspective Vs. Public Order Perspective?

The difference between the individual rights perspective and the public order perspective is that the individual rights perspective focuses on the individual and will sacrifice public safety for the individual while the public order perspective focuses on public safety and is willing to sacrifice individual rights. This is an issue that it hotly debated among people and political parties.

Public order denotes keeping the public safe and keeping things orderly. Public order laws are laws that are created to stop riots, violent behavior and other activities or behaviors that can lead to serious public harm. Individual rights involve protecting an individual’s right to do something regardless of its potential impact on public harm. An example of an individual rights law would be the law of free speech. In the United States, citizens are allowed to speak freely because of the first amendment and it does not matter whether or not this free speech adversely affects the government or the people.

An example of a public order law might be a law that restricts gun use in a particular area. The law might prohibit guns from entering based on the safety of the public, however, denying people the right to a weapon is an assault on the people’s individual rights. Throughout the years, gun laws have been debated on the basis of public order law and the individual rights perspective.