Enforcement Of A Crap Law Is Still Necessary For The Rule Of Law

I know this is probably going to make me pretty unpopular with quite a few folks, but I just call things the way I see things.

Eric Garner's death, as tragic as it was, was not because he was selling "loosies" (single cigarettes). As with Michael Brown, who wasn't shot and killed for the strong-arm robbery he committed minutes before Ferguson P.D. Officer Darren Wilson encountered him, Garner died as a result of his disobeying the lawful order of the police officers attempting to arrest him.

We can complain that the law the police were there to enforce the day Garner died was, and is, ridiculous. The government interfering in the free-market service Garner was attempting to provide is precisely the type of law that true conservatives wish to abolish, and it should be. But just as with Mike Brown, had Garner complied with the police officers' commands, he would most likely be alive today.

While most people are focusing on the underlying crime in both NYC and Ferguson, they're missing the obvious - the failure of both men to obey the lawful commands of the police. With Garner, we must also keep in mind that he had been previously arrested and was out on bail for selling untaxed cigarettes, driving without a license, marijuana possession, among others. Garner had a criminal record that includes more than 30 arrests dating back to 1980 on charges such as assault, resisting arrest, grand larceny. An official said the charges include multiple incidents in which he was arrested for selling unlicensed cigarettes.

The Garner incident had nothing to do with race. In fact, the police sergeant leading the detail making the arrest was a black woman. It was her decision to go forward with the arrest. I deeply sympathize with the Garner family, but facts are facts, and as he had been arrested multiple times - FOR THE SAME OFFENSE - he *knew* that what he was doing was against the law.

We can argue about the ridiculousness of the law Garner was breaking until we're all blue in the face, but unless and until that law is changed, we are duty-bound to obey that law. This is the type of government overreach that we have allowed to creep into our system.

Just as Mike Brown is responsible for Mike Brown's death, Eric Garner is responsible for Eric Garner's death. The police officers involved in both cases were just trying to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. ~ Hunter