Sir, - One can only marvel at the quaint logic of Dr Bill Tormey (November 26th) when he says: "Why should the state interfere with the activities of consenting adults in private?"
What does he mean, "private"? Hasn't he noticed? The widespread depravity in society today under the aegis of his cherished Enlightenment clearly demonstrates that "consenting adults" care not a whit for privacy and are hell-bent on doing their consenting in the full glare of publicity. They're doing it in the streets, on the beaches, in public parks, in the theatres and on the silver screen; on television, in and outside nightclubs and pubs; in advertisements, on hoardings, in books, magazines and newspapers; in short, on the very rooftops.
"Why do we insist that we have a collective right to interfere in the activities of consenting adults who wish to take drugs and fornicate?" asks Dr Tormey. Well, if they were "consenting" away for all they were worth in private, nobody would know what they were up to. But that sort of thing never stays private and the lessons of the consequent corruption of public morals in general and youth in particular are there to be learnt in the pages of history for those who care to read them. - Yours, etc.,
Shane O'Connor, Green Road, Newbridge, Co Kildare.