... tempts us to argue that law and morality are one and the same thing. Telling lies or acting dishonestly is generally considered to be wrong morally. Dishonesty in certain circumstances may be regarded as legally wrong. But only under strict definition. E.g. Sec 1 Theft Act, 1968. Also moral views change over time; this effects the changing of laws in society. In the USA opium used to be used by the middle classes and thought not to be morally wrong, but when it was criminalised by the Harrison Act 1914 attitudes changed when the hardened users were perceived as low-life. It then was morally unacceptable. The government of the day may reflect these changing views by passing a law to reflect the views of society. For example the Sexual Offences Act 1967, that now makes homosexuality legal. There are some long-established rules that are legal rules as well as moral ones ...

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