There are plenty of reasons to oppose State Rep. Dave Williams’ (R-Colorado Springs) anti-sanctuary bill. Sanctuary cities are safer than non-sanctuary cities, undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S. citizens, and the bill would place an unfunded burden on local law-enforcement, to name a few. But I want to focus on something else: hypocrisy.
Back in 2013 when Colorado lawmakers passed modest gun-safety legislation, a number of sheriffs in the state voiced their intention to not enforce the laws, including Weld County Sheriff John Cooke. Today, John Cooke is a state senator, and he has signed on as a co-sponsor of Dave Williams’ sanctuary city bill, which would allow people to sue local law enforcement for not enforcing immigration policy.
This begs the question: why was it OK for Cooke to not enforce gun-safety legislation back then if he now favors suing law-enforcement for not enforcing immigration law? If someone is gunned down with a banned magazine, would they have been able to sue then-Sheriff Cooke for not enforcing the law? Of course not. The idea is ludicrous.
The truth is, the “sanctuary city” bill is a nonsensical act of bigotry that is based on a faulty premise. Law-enforcement is right to refuse to act as an arm of the federal government’s enforcement regime when they know it would decrease safety in the communities they serve.
Cooke is a monumental hypocrite for signing off on a law that would have placed him in the cross hairs of civil lawsuits if it were to be applied to his own refusal to enforce a law he disagreed with as a sheriff.
