If the object is to regulate a thing it cannot be prohibited, for the power to regulate is not the power to prohibit.

Explanation

(English-origin maxim.) When the People delegate a power to regulate, that delegation does not include the power to destroy through prohibition — a regulatory scheme that operates as a de facto ban exceeds the delegated authority and is void as an act beyond the scope of the trust.

Where this applies

• A city requires a permit to hold a public gathering but denies every application, effectively prohibiting public assembly even though the ordinance is framed as mere regulation.
• A state imposes so many requirements on gun dealers that no dealer can operate, and the court strikes the scheme because a regulatory power does not include the power to prohibit the regulated activity entirely.
• A licensing board sets fees so high that no small business can afford to comply, and the court holds that the power to regulate an industry does not include the power to destroy it through prohibitive conditions.