Not really. We have always regulated public safety.

In some cases it's not so simple, though.

As a Canadian, I have no idea what I'm talking about, but fire arms control is an example where regulating for public safety against individual liberties is not so simple. Here it is. But not everywhere is the same.

I was young when laws against drinking and driving made it criminal, but I don't think public adoption came overnight.

In the case of Covid19, the time period for laws to pass, for public adoption, is very very short. No time for lenghty public debates.

Tough one, in my book.