by D. Scott Anthony
(Editor’s Note: This Arizona situation is a precursor to future events relating to the relationship between states and Washington. Watch carefully how this unfolds, friends. Will Washington just make some noise at first, and allow this to settle down later? Or will the criminals in DC continue to escalate the pressure on Arizona? Both sides must ask: Is this a hill I want to die on?
This editor is predicting that many more of these confrontational situations are just over the horizon. Many states have already taken stands against various Federal laws. Scores of states have joined in the legal action against Washington over the new health care law. Now we just have to wait to see which states will “man up”…or in Texas, “cowboy up”…and take back their sovereignty. It’s one thing to have your pretty-boy lawyers prance into court and argue. It’s another thing entirely to pass a Declaration of Independence, followed by an Ordinance of Secession. Time will show us just which states are full of patriots and free men.)
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Arizona is suffering under a wave of violence and crime, as a direct result of the federal government’s inability to control the border with Mexico. With Phoenix experiencing one drug-related kidnapping every 36 hours, the people of Arizona felt the need to protect themselves by counteracting the daily influx of illegal immigrants.
Most Arizonans believe that this law, which will allow police to determine the immigration status of people who are already being questioned legally by the police, is constitutional. And I agree with them. It is true that immigration laws are federal laws. So are laws regarding drug use. Just because a federal statue exists, it does not mean state and local governments cannot pass local laws which mirror the federal guideline, just as long as those laws do not contradict the federal statute.
Other states are considering similar measures, but it will have to be seen how many can muster the popular support to pass their own version of Arizona’s law. Whether or not these measures pass, this shows that many people throughout the country are sympathetic to the plight of Arizona.
But many Americans on the left are not content to allow Arizonans practicing their constitutional rights. Boycotts are springing up in california and other places, to punish Arizona for their actions. This is a disturbing and dangerous trend of isolating and marginalizing Americans who, while acting legally, violate the political correct code of the left. The left is becoming the party of enforced conformity. Whether on gay marriage, abortion, illegal immigration, race-based preferences, or any number of other issues; the left is adamant to enforce their will on the nation.
I believe the Arizona law will stand, and be a real benefit in bringing down the crime rate, and the illegal immigrant population. But the left will continue to treat Arizona (and other states which pass similar measures) as if they were South Africa during apartheid.
Boycotts and embargoes between nations is a very serious and potentially dangerous matter. Such actions are usually a sign of worsening relations, and often a precusor to confrontation or even war. The left is taking measures against Arizona that the us has only rarely pursued — against Japan in the 1930s, against South Africa in the 1080s, and currently against Iran and Cuba.
Such treatment of American citizens who disagree with the left on a political issue is frightening, and hints at the actions the left will take against any entity or individual who defies them. More immediately, it delineates the line between traditional Americans and leftist Americans. It is the line that will one day, perhaps sooner than expected, mark the boundary between two separate nations.
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