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Topic : Re: How to deal with moral/legal subjects in writing? More specifically, how can one write a novel that examines or even argues against cultural moral values and laws without... dealing with legal - selfpublishingguru.com

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In your comment to @tryin , You say "It is a non-debated social perception the character would be fighting."

I am not a lawyer but I believe in the USA at least, and possibly elsewhere, there actually are some of these that you can get into trouble for; should your work be judged child pornography for example, or thinly disguised fiction promoting violence against sitting politicians, or promoting the murder of people in a certain profession like abortion providers or defense attorneys. Or promoting violence against a **class* of people, like gays, blacks, illegal immigrants, etc.

I also believe that when it comes to fiction, there are laws of intent when it comes to identification: So if you intend to argue some politician should be assassinated, it makes no difference what you name your character, if a jury agrees that your description of this character and their actions is intended to portray a real-life individual and can't mean anybody else -- they can hold you liable.

But I am not a lawyer, if you want to argue for breaking some existing law that prevents physical violence or retaliation, I'd get it vetted by a lawyer, or a publisher's lawyer. If you actually are arguing against laws like the speed limit or caps on interest rates or even prostitution (which is legal in many modern countries) that don't harm specific identifiable people, my guess is you are fine, there are no specific victims or classes harmed.

If you intend to self-publish, I'd consult an attorney first.


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