2.20.2004

Question: What does California and Alabama have in common?

Answer: Both states have officials who disobey higher authority.

You're wondering who I'm talking about now, right?

If you guessed San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, you're right.

If you're reading this, you probably already know that the reason Moore is the former chief justice is because he disobeyed a federal court order to remove the 10 Commandments monument from the Alabama Judicial Building. And like I've said before, It's not because of the 10 Commandments, it's because of his disobedience.

Well, in San Francisco, Mayor Newsom has been issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

According to the Montgomery Advertiser, "More than 2,000 gay couples have been married despite a California law that unambiguously forbids same-sex marriages."

The Moore/Newsom comparison was first introduced in an editorial in the Dallas Morning News.

The Dallas Morning News editorial writer says, "It's a serious matter when officials whose responsibilities are to enforce the law flout it." He's right. It is a serious matter.

What people don't realize is that there is a right and wrong way to go about change. A public official deliberately disregarding a law or a higher court's authority in either situation is wrong, no matter which side you believe in.

These leaders should work with supporters to change the law rather than take it in their own hands. They don't believe in vigilante justice, and they shouldn't believe in vigilante lawmaking.

More info:
Moore, Newsom peas in a pod
Dallas Morning News

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