Let’s Outlaw Outlaw Gangs
Oklahoma Representative Paul Wesselhoft, R-Oklahoma City, who spent years trying to outlaw dogs he does not like while failing time and again has come up with another goofy idea – outlawing outlaw gangs.
Say what?
That’s right, Wesselhoft wants to outlaw criminal gangs, with a misdemeanor law which Wesselhoft admits would probably be unconstitutional on its face.
But unconstitutional has never stopped Wesselhoft before and there is little basis to suspect he is going to change his ways and cease catering to the lunatic fringe.
If Wesselhoft does manage to get his latest stunt enacted into law how many drug dealers, armed robbers and murderers do you think will be “scared straight” by the existence of a misdemeanor law that says they can not associate with fellow drug dealers, armed robbers and murderers all sharing a common goal?
About the only effect Wesselhoft’s proposed law will have on street gangs is to give gang members cause to fall down laughing, for at least a few minutes, before they get back to the pressing matters of daily life, drug dealing, robbing and of course killing each other off at a remarkable pace.
If Wesselhoft’s foolishness ended with nothing more than making hardened criminals laugh it would not be a big deal. The reality is however that if this foolishness gets enacted into law Oklahoma, will be forced to spend millions of dollars defending this it as it works its way through the federal courts to ultimately to be struck down as unconstitutional.
We would be much better off, rather than wasting millions of dollars on Wesselhoft’s foolishness, if we spent the money staffing, equipping and supporting the cops on the street that have to deal with street gangs on a daily basis…
