Memo to contemptuous Missouri sheriffs: Enforce the law or quit
Yael T. AbouhalkahSeveral Missouri sheriffs are trotting out decisions they don’t have the power to make: whether they will or won’t enforce this nation’s gun laws.
If the sheriffs don’t think they can enforce the laws - if their heart or conscience won’t let them do it - they have an easy out.
They can resign.
They can stop taking taxpayers’ money for a public-safety job, yet not doing the job correctly.
Sure, this kooky behavior is embarrassing to the state of Missouri. But it’s also happening around the nation as more than 100 sheriffs - who apparently wouldn’t know what’s in the U.S. Constitution if it fell on their head - are puffing themselves up, playing to the right wing and deciding they can tell the president of the United States they aren’t going to enforce any gun laws he develops.
Sigh.
Look, we all get it.
These ignorant sheriffs have to look good in the eyes of their conservative followers, the ones who think the Second Amendment entitles U.S. citizens to a boat load of guns and ammunition in their house.
But local sheriffs don’t have - and certainly have not earned - the right to decide what laws they will or won’t enforce.
One sheriff who’s fighting to put some sanity in the discussion put it well: “Public safety professionals serving in the executive branch do not have the constitutional authority, responsibility, and in most cases, the credentials to determine the constitutionality of any issue. Law enforcement officials should leave it to the courts to decide whether a law is constitutional or not.”
Kent Mueller
3 months, 4 weeks agoDo you feel the same way about Attorney’s General? Please answer.
Kent Mueller
3 months, 4 weeks agoYael, that should be an easy question to answer. Please answer?
George Hunsucker
Northland
3 months, 4 weeks agoDoes this apply to marijuana YT????? You libs are sooooooooooooo selective in which laws to enforce. How about illegal aliens YT????
Reginald Thornton
3 months, 4 weeks agoThe height of arrogance keeps rising with Yael’s columns. Now he derogatorily insults public servants that lay their lives on the line daily, accusing them of failing to uphold laws that don’t yet exist, that only today were proposed, that no serious observer expects to become law undiluted. Heavily diluted. And why? Because the congressmen’s constituents don’t agree that gun control of law-abiding citizenry is a viable solution. How arrogant for a single editorialist to hold his opinion so high above the electorate as to insult those selfless protectors that we, the people, have voted into their offices. Civil servants that took an oath to defend the Constitution, not the oath to defend Obama which apparently is administered to journalists.
Reginald Thornton
3 months, 4 weeks agoCould Yael please turn his venom to those inner city youth, gangs and so-called leadership that poses the real tyrannical threat to suburbs? That they should turn their sights on invading us, having picked clean their own neighbors, is the logical yet unintended consequence of inhibiting gun ownership among law-abiding citizens. Perhaps Yael could take a break from deriding society’s heros, long enough to criticize those leeches of society that collectively (a word that needs no definition for Yael’s folk) produce the equivalent of one Sandy Hook daily.
Robert Copher
3 months, 4 weeks agoThe same could be said for Kobach, the anti-abortion fanatics, and the gun control movement. All narcicist snobs that believe the laws of the land do not apply enough to get them to hold their objections for the sake of the country. Unfortunately, Yael some are starting to stand up and say NO. I applaud these sherrifs. Now if we can just get people to do the same to Kobach the others, maybe we can return to a sane and respectful nation. Trust me. There is not a partisan problem in this country. There is a problem with narcicist snobs such as YTA.
Robert Copher
3 months, 4 weeks agoThey are the ones that have made this country more volatile and dangerous than any point in history with the over expression of their beliefs and demands for extremist responses to every issue in this country. Until the people stand up and demand no new legislation, no changes to laws, no expression of religious or moral beliefs and no more imposing of their fears, they will continue to tear us apart.
Kent Mueller
3 months, 4 weeks agoYael, it is the height of arrogance to go online and make any comment you want to make (which is your and the Star’s right!!!) and not answer to any criticism. It is yellow to not ever to defend what you say.
The dwindling readers of the Star should tell you something.
You used to have one more on your opinion staff. He left, for whatever reason, and has not been replaced. Why is that? The fact is that a dwindling market cares.
Brian Mehnert
3 months, 3 weeks agoMemo to Yael: Missouri sheriffs and others around the country ARE promising to enforce the law- the second amendment. The president and his minions have threatened to throw out the constitution and as they DO have the right to enforce STATE laws, the sheriffs, as many other Americans, have finally had enough of the tyrannical dictator and have promised to truly enforce the law.
George Hunsucker
Northland
3 months, 3 weeks agoYou described YT well Kent…. You have to understand he IS a lib superior being and owes no discourse to we mere bloggers… No, his discourse is reserved for the enlightened…
Libs are sooooooooooooo funny…..
Matt Henry
3 months, 3 weeks agoI still can’t get over YTA’s snottiness. Does he not see how this diminishes his work?
They are “kooky”, says the self-professed “hater of guns” who now knows the Constitution well enough to at least know it when it hits him on the head. They are “puffed up”, “ignorant” players to the “right wing”.
Is the Star really comfortable with this childishness, this lack of professionalism?
Reginald Thornton
3 months, 3 weeks agoGreat point about the snottiness, Matt. I’ll repeat mine from earlier. He is ridiculing sherrifs specifically for not enforcing laws (“Enforce the law of quit”). But these specific laws don’t yet even exist. They were not even revealed until yesterday. And no serious observer expects those that do pass to pass without being heavily diluted.
Yael has no problem with the president picking and choosing which laws he cares to enforce, or which ones he unilaterally changes by questionable Executive Order. Yael is so biased that not only does he fail to see this contradiction, but he also feels comfortable ridiculing these public servants, that lay their lives on the line daily, and who were elected by a majority of voters to represent them.
A majority of voters showing their support for these sherrifs doesn’t make them infallible. But disagreeing with them may also be disagreeing with a majority of voters. No problem. But it seems sociopathic to then feel entitled to express that disagreement so derogatorily. The behavior goes beyond the bounds of pounding the table when you have no facts. It is editorial turrets.
Reginald Thornton
3 months, 3 weeks agoGreat point about the snottiness, Matt. I’ll repeat mine from earlier. He is ridiculing sherrifs specifically for not enforcing laws (“Enforce the law of quit”). But these specific laws don’t yet even exist. They were not even revealed until yesterday. And no serious observer expects those that do pass to pass without being heavily diluted.
Yael has no problem with the president picking and choosing which laws he cares to enforce, or which ones he unilaterally changes by questionable Executive Order. Yael is so biased that not only does he fail to see this contradiction, but he also feels comfortable ridiculing these public servants, that lay their lives on the line daily, and who were elected by a majority of voters to represent them.
A majority of voters showing their support for these sherrifs doesn’t make them infallible. But disagreeing with them may also be disagreeing with a majority of voters. No problem. But it seems sociopathic to then feel entitled to express that disagreement so derogatorily. The behavior goes beyond the bounds of pounding the table when you have no facts. It is editorial turrets.
Reginald Thornton
3 months, 3 weeks agoSorry for that double post…. Just had to point out the deliciously ironic timing of today’s news that a Federal Appeals court has found Obama’s NLRB “recess” appointments to have been overreaching.
Reginald Thornton
3 months, 3 weeks agoHere’s the story’s link. I’m taking it at face value, despite the publication where I read the story: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/25/4031037/court-obama-appointments-are-unconstitutional.html
Kent Mueller
3 months, 3 weeks agoLet’s see. Yael called Pat Roberts “Two-Faced”. That might be true, I don’t know.
However, Yael is calling for sheriffs to enforce the law or quit. I have asked on here and via email if Yael extends his demand to enforce the law to Attorney’s General. So, far, no response. Crickets.
I let it up to everyone here to say if this does or does not make Yael “Two-Faced”, as he has accused Pat Roberts to be.
Kent Mueller
3 months, 3 weeks agoYael, care to respond before you leave for the weekend?
Richard L Wagner
3 months, 3 weeks agoThe surreal online presence of the Kansas City Star is such a challenge to navigate. So condencending as well. So, this same exact column by Yell A. had been published at least a week ago, and had accumilated comments. Now, all the previous comments have been dumped and so has the previous online discussion.
The Star doesn’t really know what kind of an online presence it wants. Should they provide a free online newsource and comments or do they believe that they can make enough money to keep the Star alive by charging for online newscontent and right to make comments. The graphic format is so jumbled and changing constantly, as well.
Meanwhile, Yell looks down upon the public from his photo, in his all knowing, condencending smile.
Kent Mueller
3 months, 3 weeks agoRichard, if you want to get into an interesting maze, go to the Star’s high school sports section. They converted to a different format before the school year and blew the conversion. They aren’t even close to having it right yet. For instance, if you go to the basketball scores, some of the school are hyperlinked. Not a lot, but some are. Here we are in the middle of basketball season. You know where you go when you click on the hyperlink? You go to a screen showing the football schedule from last fall…with only about four weeks of results. And the schedule isn’t even in calendar order. It’s all jumbled as to date. Try reading a high school box score online with the Star. The quarterly team scores are one team at a time, and they are vertical!!! Not horizontal like the sports world does it. It has been like this for months. Evidently, the Star doesn’t want to invest the resources to correct their blown conversion.