With all of the recent events occurring all over the country regarding interactions between law enforcement (federal, state, local) and the public, I believe a few observations and comments are appropriate.
1. When a member of law enforcement tells you to do something or to stop doing something, you would be well advised to listen to and obey them. You and your lawyer can argue and challenge it in court later on if you choose to.
2. The federal government, including the executive law enforcement agencies, have had jurisdiction in the states since the establishment of the United States Constitution in 1789 when the U.S. Marshal’s Office was established. This is not something new that President Donald Trump came up with!
3. We fought a Civil War when some states took it upon themselves to ignore the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States and was passed by Congress on Jan. 31, 1865, and ratified on Dec. 6, 1865.
Bottom line here is that just because you don’t happen to like a law doesn’t give you immunity from law enforcement or the courts if you choose to break or ignore it.
You would think that ALL of our elected officials would at the very least understand this basic fact before they start advising all these brain-dead sycophants to put themselves in danger of being arrested, injured or killed by interfering with federal law enforcement officers enforcing federal laws, but it would appear I am being naive in thinking that.
And I would also point out what I had also foolishly assumed everyone with a functioning frontal lobe was aware of the fact that, when you are arrested, no matter your citizenship or lack of same, you are going to be separated from your family and friends. This is NOT something unique to people in the country illegally when they are arrested. It works the same for all of us!
Rick Barker
Valencia
