--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When people can't control their…" description: "\"When people can't control their desires... we have to pass laws to stop their desires.\" — Rick Santorum" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/rick-santorum-1840_desire_when-people-can-t-control-their-desires_2936289.jpg" --- # When people can't control their desires... we have to pass… ![“When people can't control their desires... we have to pass laws to stop their desires.” quote by Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/rick-santorum-1840_desire_when-people-can-t-control-their-desires_2936289.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/rick-santorum-1840_desire_when-people-can-t-control-their-desires_2936289.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/rick-santorum-1840_desire_when-people-can-t-control-their-desires_2936289.jpg) > “When people can't control their desires... we have to pass laws to stop their desires.” [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desires must be regulated by law when individuals cannot control them themselves. **In simple terms:** Laws needed to curb uncontrolled desires. Key Takeaway Support responsible legislation. Themes law control desire society ethics Mood debate analytical Type political ethical When to use this quote - government regulation - personal responsibility - social norms Key Concepts public policy self‑control Questions to Reflect On - When should personal freedom outweigh legal control? - What desires truly need legal limits? A Different Perspective Over‑regulation can infringe freedoms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Government has become ungovernable; that is, it cannot leave off governing. Law has become lawless; that is, it cannot see where laws should stop.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/government-has-become-ungovernable-that-is-it-cannot-leave-off/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Laws do not stop crime; they merely make noise about crime. They say 'Don't take anything that doesn't belong to you'. Well, that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/laws-do-not-stop-crime-they-merely-make-noise-about-crime-they-say/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [“Sometimes what we desire the most can change who we are, and it’s up to us to decide if that’s for better or worse.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dannika-dark/sometimes-what-we-desire-the-most-can-change-who-we-are-and-it-s-up/) [Dannika Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dannika-dark/) > [Through return to simple living comes control of desires. In control of desires stillness is attained. In stillness the world is restored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/through-return-to-simple-living-comes-control-of-desires-in-control/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“One is a careful distinction between things which are in our power and things which are not. Desire and dislike, opinion and affection, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/one-is-a-careful-distinction-between-things-which-are-in-our-power/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The one who has no control over his desires has no control over his mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-ibn-abi-talib/the-one-who-has-no-control-over-his-desires-has-no-control-over-his/) [Ali ibn Abi Talib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-ibn-abi-talib/) > [Freedom in Christ allows you to control the desires that once controlled you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/freedom-in-christ-allows-you-to-control-the-desires-that-once/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [Everyone have desires, not everyone can control desires from doing it in actions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/km-ii/everyone-have-desires-not-everyone-can-control-desires-from-doing-it/) [KM II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/km-ii/) > [Do we have free will, or do the mass media and our culture control us, our desires and actions, from the moment we’re born?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/do-we-have-free-will-or-do-the-mass-media-and-our-culture-control-us/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“If organisms indeed lack free will, it implies that we can manipulate and even control their desires using drugs, genetic engineering or direct brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/if-organisms-indeed-lack-free-will-it-implies-that-we-can-manipulate/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“For twenty-one years, I have been paralyzed by the fear of what this society will do with me if they ever were to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pearce/for-twenty-one-years-i-have-been-paralyzed-by-the-fear-of-what-this/) [Dan Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pearce/) > [When it comes to power as it functions between humans, it all comes down to desire. If you know what someone wants, you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-a-kemp/when-it-comes-to-power-as-it-functions-between-humans-it-all-comes/) [Courtney A. Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-a-kemp/) > [To me that's what art is about - when you don't really have any control over your desires to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-taylor/to-me-that-s-what-art-is-about-when-you-don-t-really-have-any-control/) [Noah Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-taylor/) > [“As for him who envies or even fears us (and envied and feared great powers must always be), and who on this account wishes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/as-for-him-who-envies-or-even-fears-us-and-envied-and-feared-great/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [“As Greg Boyd states: Why should we assume that God desires to do everything he has the raw power to do? . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-fischer/as-greg-boyd-states-why-should-we-assume-that-god-desires-to-do/) [Austin Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-fischer/) ## More by Rick Santorum > [We know the candidate Barack Obama, what he was like - the anti-war government nig... America was a source for division around the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-know-the-candidate-barack-obama-what-he-was-like-the-anti-war/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [We had 90 percent rates, but nobody paid them. And so you had all these exemptions, exclusions, shelters, all this kind of stuff. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-had-90-percent-rates-but-nobody-paid-them-and-so-you-had-all-these/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [I would say any type of sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/i-would-say-any-type-of-sexual-activity-has-absolutely-no-place-in/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [I support the death penalty and will continue to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/i-support-the-death-penalty-and-will-continue-to-do-that/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [Suffering, if you're a Christian, suffering is a part of life. And it's not a bad thing, it is an essential thing in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/suffering-if-you-re-a-christian-suffering-is-a-part-of-life-and-it-s/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture, ... When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/priests-like-all-of-us-are-affected-by-culture-when-the-culture-is/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [“The basic unit of society is the family. No one comes into this world as a self-sufficient individual. We start out as the helpless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/the-basic-unit-of-society-is-the-family-no-one-comes-into-this-world/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [In 1923 there were no government benefits for immigrants except one: Freedom!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/in-1923-there-were-no-government-benefits-for-immigrants-except-one/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [Now is the time to act or get stuck with a bland, boring, career politician who will lose to Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/now-is-the-time-to-act-or-get-stuck-with-a-bland-boring-career/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [My mom was a working woman. She made more money than my dad. Both my parents worked. And this was in the '60s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/my-mom-was-a-working-woman-she-made-more-money-than-my-dad-both-my/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [Almost 60,000 average Americans had the courage to go out and charge those beaches on Normandy, to drop out of airplanes who knows where,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/almost-60-000-average-americans-had-the-courage-to-go-out-and-charge/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [ The state has a right to do that \[outlaw contraceptives\], I have never questioned that the state has a right to do that. It… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/the-state-has-a-right-to-do-that-outlaw-contraceptives-i-have-never/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [ One of Governor Romney's aides today on television said that Governor Romney, after he wins the primaries, will be like an \[Etch A Sketch\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/one-of-governor-romney-s-aides-today-on-television-said-that-governor/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [I dont know of one group of people thats more disliked than politicians -- it may be the folks who gave us the Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/i-dont-know-of-one-group-of-people-thats-more-disliked-than/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [Obviously the first thing we need to do is repeal “Obamacare.” That's one entitlement that we can get rid of. And that's a couple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/obviously-the-first-thing-we-need-to-do-is-repeal-obamacare-that-s/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) [Explore all 204 Rick Santorum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When people can't control their desires... we have to pass laws to stop their desires.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rick Santorum" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/when-people-can-t-control-their-desires-we-have-to-pass-laws-to-stop/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/when-people-can-t-control-their-desires-we-have-to-pass-laws-to-stop/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/rick-santorum-1840_desire_when-people-can-t-control-their-desires_2936289.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/rick-santorum-1840_desire_when-people-can-t-control-their-desires_2936289.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/rick-santorum-1840_desire_when-people-can-t-control-their-desires_2936289.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When people can't control their desires... we have to pass laws to stop their desires.” — Rick Santorum", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rick Santorum", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When people can't control their desires......", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/when-people-can-t-control-their-desires-we-have-to-pass-laws-to-stop/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/when-people-can-t-control-their-desires-we-have-to-pass-laws-to-stop/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```