--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can put handcuffs on people who push…" description: "\"You can put handcuffs on people who push the envelope. When they break the law, they deserve to have handcuffs.\" — Elizabeth Warren" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/elizabeth-warren-879_break_you-can-put-handcuffs-on-people-who-push_57339.png" --- # You can put handcuffs on people who push the envelope… ![“You can put handcuffs on people who push the envelope. When they break the law, they deserve to have handcuffs.” quote by Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/elizabeth-warren-879_break_you-can-put-handcuffs-on-people-who-push_57339.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/elizabeth-warren-879_break_you-can-put-handcuffs-on-people-who-push_57339.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/elizabeth-warren-879_break_you-can-put-handcuffs-on-people-who-push_57339.png) > “You can put handcuffs on people who push the envelope. When they break the law, they deserve to have handcuffs.” [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that innovators who overstep legal boundaries should face the same penalties as any other lawbreaker, emphasizing accountability over status. **In simple terms:** Legal accountability applies to all, regardless of ambition. Key Takeaway Innovation doesn't exempt one from law. Themes accountability law innovation ethics power dynamics Mood critical serious Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political debate - corporate regulation - activist movements Key Concepts rule of law civil liberties political rhetoric Practical Applications - policy drafting - public discourse Questions to Reflect On - Should societal contributions influence legal treatment? - How to balance innovation with regulation? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Break Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break-law-273452/) [Deserve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserve/) [Deserve Handcuffs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserve-handcuffs-793586/) [Envelope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envelope/) [Envelope Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envelope-break-793588/) [Handcuffs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handcuffs/) [Handcuffs People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handcuffs-people-793587/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Push](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/push/) [Put](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/put/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [If you are going to break a Law of Art, make the crime interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/if-you-are-going-to-break-a-law-of-art-make-the-crime-interesting/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Everyone must be equal before the law, abide by it, pay their taxes and bear the punishment should they break the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/everyone-must-be-equal-before-the-law-abide-by-it-pay-their-taxes-and/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [“one of the reasons I'm talking to you now is to tell you that whatever you may be planning, you must not break the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/one-of-the-reasons-i-m-talking-to-you-now-is-to-tell-you-that/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [If an injustice requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-an-injustice-requires-you-to-be-the-agent-of-injustice-to-another/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [If however the law is so promulgated that it of necessity makes you an agent of injustices against another, then I say to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-however-the-law-is-so-promulgated-that-it-of-necessity-makes-you/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Some people think that I nvever break the law because my dad is a police officer. Wrong. I drink, not alot, I smoke, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-think-that-i-nvever-break-the-law-because-my-dad-is-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We don't break the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lay/we-don-t-break-the-law/) [Kenneth Lay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lay/) > [Anyone in a free society where the laws are unjust has an obligation to break the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/anyone-in-a-free-society-where-the-laws-are-unjust-has-an-obligation/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I would never tell young people to break the law or avoid prosecution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cris-carter/i-would-never-tell-young-people-to-break-the-law-or-avoid-prosecution/) [Cris Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cris-carter/) > [There is no good time to break the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-davey/there-is-no-good-time-to-break-the-law/) [Ed Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-davey/) > [If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-the-machine-of-government-is-of-such-a-nature-that-it-requires-you/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I don't break the law\* made for crooks, when I take away my own property - thus I am not obliged to conform to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-don-t-break-the-law-made-for-crooks-when-i-take-away-my-own/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [People who want to express themselves need to be given an opportunity. For me, it's a very fundamental premise: you break the law, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-buckhorn/people-who-want-to-express-themselves-need-to-be-given-an-opportunity/) [Bob Buckhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-buckhorn/) > [If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-caesar/if-you-must-break-the-law-do-it-to-seize-power-in-all-other-cases/) [Julius Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-caesar/) > [We like the idea of a guy who gets away with it ("it" in this case being a variety of things: murder, robbery, general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-goldberg/we-like-the-idea-of-a-guy-who-gets-away-with-it-it-in-this-case-being/) [Tod Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-goldberg/) ## More by Elizabeth Warren > [Every time the U.S. government makes a low-cost loan to someone, it's investing in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/every-time-the-u-s-government-makes-a-low-cost-loan-to-someone-it-s/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [Once you've gotten your money in balance, you know how much you have to spend on things that are just fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/once-you-ve-gotten-your-money-in-balance-you-know-how-much-you-have/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [“For capitalism to work, we all need one another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/for-capitalism-to-work-we-all-need-one-another/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [“The single best predictor that a family would go bankrupt was if they had a child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/the-single-best-predictor-that-a-family-would-go-bankrupt-was-if-they/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [ I can remember riding in the car with \[my daughter\] Amelia, when she was very small, and we'd talk about money the same way… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/i-can-remember-riding-in-the-car-with-my-daughter-amelia-when-she-was/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [That's how we build the economy of the future. 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But nobody says that she doesn't know how to throw a punch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/there-are-a-lot-of-things-that-people-say-about-hillary-clinton-but/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [I don't think anyone went the polls and said, 'I am casting my vote to make sure that Wall Street has better chances to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/i-don-t-think-anyone-went-the-polls-and-said-i-am-casting-my-vote-to/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [With post offices and postal workers already on the ground, USPS could partner with banks to make a critical difference for millions of Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/with-post-offices-and-postal-workers-already-on-the-ground-usps-could/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [We should stop having a conversation about cutting Social Security a little bit or a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/we-should-stop-having-a-conversation-about-cutting-social-security-a/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > ['Middle class' used to be synonymous with secure, with steady, with boring, because middle-class people were people who were pretty much safe from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/middle-class-used-to-be-synonymous-with-secure-with-steady-with/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [The broken consumer credit market had to be repaired by making sure that consumers had the right information and could use it effectively. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/the-broken-consumer-credit-market-had-to-be-repaired-by-making-sure/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [“When you have no real power, go public—really public. The public is where the real power is. Those”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/when-you-have-no-real-power-go-public-really-public-the-public-is/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [“Lamar Alexander, the senator from Tennessee and the most senior Republican on the committee, was asking his last questions when a witness interrupted him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/lamar-alexander-the-senator-from-tennessee-and-the-most-senior/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) [Explore all 342 Elizabeth Warren quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) ## More Break quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. 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No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/) [Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) [Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dunne/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. 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