by: J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) Though the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment calls for equal protection under the laws, not everyone in the United States is, well, considered equal. Some, it seems, are considered more than equal.
According to L.A. Police Chief Charlie Beck – who ostensibly took an oath of office to uphold the laws of the city, state and nation – police will now simply accept some form of identification other than a driver's license, as well as proof of insurance and vehicle registration. If drivers can produce those items, well, they can keep their car.
"It's about fairness. It's about equal application of the law," Beck told an L.A. television station in March.
Self-anointed 'fairness' police
Opponents of Beck's decision are understandably upset, but over more than just the blatant disregard for the law. For instance, they point to a 2011 AAA study called Unlicensed to Kill that showed unlicensed drivers were five times more likely to be involved in fatal car crashes, and are much more likely to leave the scene of an accident, than are licensed drivers.
Then, of course, there are other tangible – and intangible – aspects to Beck's decision. Will the new policy also apply to resident citizens of L.A.? Or will they be subject to the state law and lose their vehicles if they don't have a driver's license? What about resident-citizens from other parts of the state? Will citizens from outside the state be allowed to skirt the law and benefit from the "some form of I.D. only" policy?
The city's attorney has sided with Beck. The L.A. Police Commission voted in favor of the policy change 4-1. The LAPD itself says officers will begin enforcing the new policy within weeks.
One voice of reason – Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley – has written Beck and said based on state law, which says vehicles "shall be impounded," his policy would be "invalid." But it's not clear whether Beck is prepared to pay attention to that advice.
But there are other indications illegal aliens are the new sovereign citizens. One-time Republican presidential contender and current governor of Texas, Rick Perry, has sanctioned illegal immigration in his state by allowing them to pay in-state tuition at colleges, while citizens from other states are required to pay more.
Sovereign citizens should pay less too
Back in California but on the same college theme, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a measure into law in October that requires taxpayers to provide state financial aid to these sovereign citizens so they can attend public colleges.
Known as the California Dream Act, the measure – which will take effect in 2013 – is likely to cost the state $13 million or more annually, money it doesn't have as lawmakers and the governor stare at a budget deficit in the tens of billions of dollars.
Moreover, schools themselves have had to cut back because of soaring costs, even as they pass much of them onto other students.
"Tuition rates have been going up, the universities have budget cuts of $1.2 billion and there are lotteries for classes – but if someone is here illegally, we roll out the red carpet," Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks (San Bernardino County), who serves as vice chairman of the Assembly's Higher Education Committee, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
He's right. More and more often, ordinary Americans are expected to not only obey every law, but to provide largess and benefits to undeserving lawbreakers who have become a protected class of sovereign citizens. No wonder our political discourse is so raucous and vile.