Is it OK to break the law in SHTF?
The grid is down and people are going crazy. Your family is hungry (we’ll assume you had a good food storage, but that it was destroyed for some reason) and you need to feed them. Nobody is policing Walmart. Can you go help yourself? This question has a morals and ethics side to it, a practical side to it, and a legal side to it. I’m not God, or a lawyer, so don’t take what I say as definitive on right or wrong, or as legal advice, but I’ll still do my best to answer that question- Is breaking the law ok in SHTF?
Is it Unethical to Break the Law in SHTF
There isn’t really a clear line here. If you decide to go on a purge or a violent rampage, yes that is clearly wrong. Not only is it illegal, but it is universally accepted as wrong. If you disagree, you’re wrong. Is it unethical to catch more than a “legal limit” of fish to feed your hungry family? It sounds perfectly reasonable to me, and I’d probably be at the water hole right there with you. So its clear that there are some morals and ethics. Each person will have to really answer the morals and ethics question personally and with their maker.
Is it Practical to Break the Law in SHTF
Yes, it can be. I mentioned above catching more than a “legal limit” while out fishing. If there was a truly serious emergency I can think of several laws that I would consider breaking, including burning trash, hunting without a license, and hopefully storing more gasoline than is considered legal where I live. I may violate zoning ordinances and build a fence where I wouldn’t otherwise be “allowed” to. In a true survival situation, you do what you need to do in order to survive, and there are many laws for environmental reasons, or other safety reasons that would go out the window.
Could I Be Prosecuted After the Fact?
Yes. Yes you could. It’s scary to think about, but yes, you can still be charged for breaking the law in shtf. If you break the law in SHTF, there may be consequences, or there might not. A lot of those consequences depend on exactly what sort of emergency or apocalyptic event happened. Ultimately, the question becomes, can you justify breaking the law in the emergency? Is the “illegal” action becoming common practice in the emergency? Do you think you could convince a judge, or a jury of your peers that you had to do what you needed to do?
Many jurisdictions use a legal figure called “actio libera in causa.”. It’s mostly applied to drunk, drugged and sometimes mentally ill people. The idea behind this is that lawyers will question whether or not you were guilty when committing the crime. If they come to the conclusion that you were not guilty (because you where too drunk, drugged up, or mentally ill), they will discuss whether you deliberately caused that state in order to commit a crime while being not guilty. Alike, the lawyers will question whether it was an act of self-defense.
Lets look at a small instance of SHTF and breaking the law. If, say, you are trespassing by entering a farmer’s barn because you are walking along a high way and were hit by a blizzard unexpectedly, you are likely justified. If, however, you are deliberating causing (“provoking”) a situation which leads to committing a crime in self defense or without guilt, the lawyers will discuss whether or not you were guilty not at the time of the crime, but before, at the time when you were causing the situation. So, if you are heading out during a snow storm, just so you can enter your neighbor’s barn (because you have been curious or want a look at his new tractor), you are likely not justified in trespassing.
Another line of thinking, depending on how bad and universal the SHTF is, illegal actions could be treated as war crimes. Many things in times of war are just let go. Only the truly bad things are tried after the fact generally. Or if the crime is caught during the SHTF, it’ll depends on the military force or force in power. The stricter the military, government, or controlling force is, the more strict things may be. In a Martial Law type situation, its possible people could be hung or shot for stealing, or other lesser crimes that wouldn’t be considered capital offences during normal times. Or they could have too much to deal with and not worry about it.
Conclusion
When it comes to breaking the law in SHTF, I don’t think there will be a lot of gray area. I would hope that after the fact, legal authorities would realize that, and that people would be reasonable in the moment. My personal policy is to do what I need to do to survive and take care of my family. If SHTF I may need to protect myself and be my own law. Hopefully this isn’t something we ever have to do, or a question any of us ever have to answer.
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