Goodman: Yes, Law Enforcement Must Follow The Law

    I'm glad we elected Kim Stewart sheriff.    Her opponent was hooked up with a right-wing cult called the “Constitutional Sheriffs Association,” which holds that sheriffs outrank federal law-enforcement. Joe Arpaio and Clive Bundy are big supporters. It grew from the old Posse Comitatus. (Jews exploit Christian farmers through taxes and unfair loans.)    These folks favor stronger penalties for illegal border-crossings and refuse to enforce laws they don't like.    They mouth the same tired rhetoric against gun laws. N.M. Senate Bill 8 would require universal background checks. “Constitutional” sheriffs say such laws are unconstitutional – something even the conservative U.S. Supreme Court has not said yet. Essentially, these guys would refuse to enforce New Mexico laws they don't like. Non-lawyers, they'd use the U.S. Constitution as an excuse. They say that gun-laws will merely inconvenience law-abiding gun owners, while criminals, by definition, will ignore the law. I've asked some of my friends whether the same arguments apply to laws against murder, robbery, and child molestation. Criminals will be criminals, so why bother? Well, we bother because: first, laws may have some deterrent effect; second, if we forbid known wife-beaters from owning guns, then if a known wife-beater threatens with a gun, or someone has knowingly put a gun into a known wife-beater's hands, we can impose appropriate punishment, and/or perhaps get someone off the streets for awhile.    Their stance is all the more puzzling because they must know the statistics. In the U.S. in 2016, 93% of the women killed by men were murdered by someone they knew, and the most common weapon used was a gun. I've known for decades that domestic disputes are the calls that most often get cops killed. A lot of these men are neither confirmed criminals, planning to knock over a 7-11 with a

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