Several sources, including the ABA Journal, have reported that Brazil is considering legislation making the “pursuit of happiness” a constitutional right. The consistent theme in several of these articles is how wacky it is to try to legislate happiness. What they don’t seem to mention, though, is that California enacted this constitutional right years ago, as I wrote about here.
I’d like to argue, as I’ve done before, that California leads the nation in crazy and pointless legislation. But what if this constitutional provision is a source of genuine happiness? If it were repealed, would people up and down the coast be majorly bummed out (i.e. sad)? Best not to risk it.