There used to be a time when politicians ran on agendas of being “tough on crime”. They knew how much safety and security meant to their constituents and how crime – everything from simple thefts to violent assaults and homicide impacted peoples lives. They understood that the best way to handle those who broke the law and discourage the next potential criminal was to punish these criminals, swiftly, severely and with certainty. And then there’s California.
If you have any question about who our elected officials in California are concerned about, look no further than the latest set of bills signed into law and those waiting in the wings. I’ll give you a hint; it’s not you – the law-abiding citizen.
California politicians haven’t cared about law and order for a long time. Propositions 47 & 57 which reduced many crimes to infractions and took away the threat of serious penalties for such “non-violent felonies” as Assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer; Battery with serious bodily injury; Solicitation to commit murder and Rape/Sodomy/Oral Copulation of an unconscious person or by use of a date rape drug, clearly show the Governor and legislature’s preference on protecting the criminal instead of the victim.
In March of this year, California’s Governor pardoned five ex-convicts who were facing deportation due to their criminal convictions. Among the convictions were auto theft, illegal drugs, domestic violence, obstructing a police officer, kidnapping, robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Then of course the pardon of the man who was convicted of murder in 1994 for shooting a gang rival and was facing deportation.
Also in March the California Supreme Court issued an administrative order that opened the door for the Governor to legally commute the sentences of every inmate on death row. The Governor used to have to get the concurrence of a majority of the state Supreme Court to issue a commutation or clemency when the individual concerned has two other felony convictions. This new administrative rule – which nobody seems to know what case prompted it – removes that condition.
With the Governor’s signature, California has proudly become the first state in the nation to eliminate the bail and will free so-called “non-violent” suspects within 12 hours of being booked. In lieu of bail, suspects will be gauged under a county-by-county defined risk-assessment system. While effectively eliminating the bail bond industry, the costs of implementing the new system are estimated at up to $2 billion. Of course more state jobs will be added to the public payroll and less people will be incarcerated while awaiting trial, a win-win for the state bureaucracy.
Oh but that’s not all… The Governor Jerry Brown signed a law that restores the voting rights of convicted felons serving time in county jails, on probation or under community supervision – but not those in state or federal prisons. But fear not hard-core felons, no doubt your time will come too.
So, what about you and your desire to NOT be a victim of crime? The California legislature has determined that if you want to carry a concealed firearm, you should have more training. Under the new law a minimum of eight hours of training on firearm safety, handling, and technique. Assembly Member Todd Gloria said “Since I introduced AB 2103, we have seen a persistent amount of gun violence in our nation and it’s become extremely difficult to ignore the link between gun violence and the number of guns in our communities.”
So while the State of California doesn’t issue concealed carry permits like many other states do, they are willing to set the standard for the cities and counties that do issue them. And now by mandating a full eight hours of training – generally starting at $100 and more depending on location, that bar is moved just a little bit further out of reach of those who are already struggling to cover all the other associated costs. And as evident from the author of AB 2103, their goal is to reduce the number of firearms in the community by targeting those carried by law-abiding citizens.
Right now the State of California, along with far too many communities who what to make their own political statement, are far too busy criminalizing the distribution of plastic drinking straws, mandating only milk or water be served to children in restaurants and making sure our youth get a good night sleep by legislating no middle or high school can start before 8:30 am than to tackle the hard issues of jobs, homelessness, mental health, public safety and the impact of all the new taxes they continue to enact on businesses and their employees.
Criminals – the people who break the law – don’t do so by accident. They make a conscious decision to steal someone else’s property, to break into cars, homes and businesses, to rob, rape or murder their victims. Crime is a given natural occurrence in society; it’s a choice to break the law at someone else’s expense.
If you somehow find the need to be a little more “fair” to these criminals, how about a little tough love? How about telling them that if they don’t want to lose their freedom, if they don’t want to go to jail, if they don’t want to pay fines, if they don’t want to be subject to the penalties society makes for people who do things like this, maybe – just maybe they shouldn’t commit the crime.
How about just telling them: STOP BREAKING THE LAW ASSHOLE!
Bob
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