A law that protects is fine. Laws that run my life are almost all of the rest and I value Freedom.
Join me. Imagine you want a dictatorship. A great way to obtain one is via laws. Stalin for instance created massive laws and it took eons to get rid of him.
However back to just the Federal laws. And we all know states create other laws.
Frequent Reference Question: How Many Federal Laws Are There?
blogs.loc.gov
The following is a guest post by Shameema Rahman, Senior Legal Research Specialist in our Public Services Division. Shameema is a frequent contributor to In Custodia Legis; her most recent post was entitled Presidential Signing Statements.
At the reference desk, we are frequently asked to estimate the number of federal laws in force. However, trying to tally this number is nearly impossible.
If you think the answer to this question can be found in the volumes of the
Statutes at Large, you are partially correct. The
Statutes at Large is a compendium that includes all the federal laws passed by the U.S. Congress. However, a total count of laws passed does not account for the fact that some laws are completely new; some are passed to amend existing laws; and others completely repeal old laws. Moreover, this set does not include any case law or regulatory provisions that have the force of law.
In a conversation about this topic, a friend asked me, “What about the
United States Code?” The current
Code has 51 titles in multiple volumes. It would be very time consuming to go page by page to count each federal law, and it also does not include case law or regulatory provisions.
While we are on the topic, would you like to know the difference between the
United States Code and the
Statutes at Large? According to the
Government Printing Office, “the
Statutes at Large, is the permanent collection of all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress.” The laws are arranged by public law number and are published in the
Statutes at Large. The set also includes concurrent resolutions, proclamations, proposed and ratified amendments to the Constitution, and reorganization plans. Until 1948, treaties and international agreements approved by the Senate were also published in the
Statutes at Large. This set is organized by year. So, if you are interested in locating the laws of passed in 1996 you need to consult the volumes for that year.
As for the
United States Code, the Government Printing Office explains that ”the
United States Code is the codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. It is divided by broad subjects into 51 titles and published by the
Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives.” It is clear that the
United States Code is a compilation of laws arranged by subject. However, similar to the
Statutes at Large, it does not include case law or regulatory provisions.