Obey the Law or Don't, But Criticize Evenly, Please

I just can't imagine how the Washington Post assumes that they can just say stuff and not expect to get called out on their penchant for not applying their pompous judgment evenly.

Case in point -- Wednesday's editorial there complaining about the lady in the clerk's office in Rowan County, Kentucky who, we all know by now, refused to obey a court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

I think it is a matter of record that I do not have strong feelings on the actual issue of gay marriage.  I'm not a big fan, but I also find it to be around #143 in the order of things for which I show visible concern.  It's a pretty big snoozer of an issue for me, far below my having to pay 40% of my income to the Federal government, or that my health insurance doubled this year due solely to Barack Obama's "signature legislative achievement."

What is not a snoozer for me is that the Post was so all-fired righteous about the clerk not obeying the "settled law of the land", and they sniffed that she should be fired on the spot for failure to carry out what a newspaper in Washington, DC believes to be her sworn duty.

That "duty", however, is to uphold the law, in her case, the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and Federal law and court rulings.  Would that the Washington Post (such fun to dilute their pomposity by italicizing their name) felt the same way about laws that, you know, actually have consequences.

I refer, of course, to the laws enforced by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol folks, but ignored by places like the City of San Francisco as they declare themselves to be "sanctuary cities" where illegal aliens can walk around freely.

And, you know, can murder people.

Let's contrast the importance of the two.  The homosexual couple in Rowan County, Kentucky that made the big stink by bringing news photographers into the Clerk's office this week to try to get a marriage license, well, they're not married but they still are together.

Despite the actions of the clerk who would not issue them a marriage license, their lives are unchanged, save that they don't have the piece of paper calling them husband and husband.  Yawwwwwwnnnnn.  If they wanted to marry that badly, well, there are plenty of clerks besides the one in Morehead, Kentucky willing to issue them a license.   Have at it.

Because of the actions of the Mayor, City Council and complicit law enforcement in the City of San Francisco, failing to respect, honor and act in accordance with Federal law, Kate Steinle is dead.  Not a yawn.  Her father cannot go into Marin County or San Jose or another neighboring locale and get his daughter returned to him.

The Post's selective outrage, and their sheer hypocrisy, is so contemptible as to need to be brought squarely to the attention of their readers, and I hope many of them see this and forward links to this piece to everyone they know, particularly those who may regularly read the paper.

If the Washington Post wants to come across with a shred of moral consistency, it needs to editorialize tomorrow calling for an end to sanctuary cities with the same venom it applies to a li'l old county clerical worker in Rowan County, Kentucky.

Expect civil officials to obey the law, or tolerate their disobedience.  Can't have it both ways.

Copyright 2015 by Robert Sutton
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