Back in the 1920s there was an intellectual movement called "General Semantics." Their goal was to understand and clarify the thinking processes of people. The movement died out around the 1950s. It was still active when I was in college, but I've heard nothing of it since. Among their slogans were "The name is not the object," and "The map is not the territory." If the General Semanticists were still around, they might now say "The title of the law is not its real intent."
The late Senator Sam Hayakawa (R, CA) was also an author and expert on General Semantics; his LANGUAGE IN THOUGHT AND ACTION is a classic in the field.