The argument that this would hurt legitimate hacking is a bad one. The example given was white hats hacking into e-voting machines. You aren't allowed to break into government buildings to make sure they are secure, it's illegal.

As far as preventative laws go, I don't think they are right but they are widely accepted by most people as right. I'll use one that most people agree with as an example. Drunk driving in and of itself doesn't hurt anyone, and some people can do it their entire lives without ever getting in an accident. But we make it illegal to try and prevent people from killing each other.