But the fact that people are free by nature to make choices does not mean that any choice they make is good or that all choices should be equal before the law.
Some people choose to steal and to lie.
Some abandon their children or their wives or husbands. Some sink into the grip of drugs. Some evade the draft at their country's need, or abandon their duty in the face of battle. These are bad choices, and when they are made, the rest of us must bear part of the cost. These things are wrong in a democracy, as much as they are wrong anywhere else.