Laws that disrespect the common man

By Tom Quiner

“When laws defy common sense, it is not hard to understand why there is widespread disrespect for the law. The common man disrespects the law because the laws disrespect the common man.”

Dale Ahlquist (right), author of “The Complete Thinker, the marvelous mind of G.K. Chesterton”

This quote comes from Dale Ahlquist’s new book, “The Complete Thinker, the marvelous mind of G.K. Chesterton.”

Is President Obama nurturing respect for the law?

I read this morning that back in 2004, State Senator Obama voted AGAINST a bill that affirmed the right of citizens to defend themselves against someone breaking into their home.

In other words, you had to let the home invader hurt you. In Obama’s world, you would be the criminal if you used your handgun to defend yourself.

Is this respectful of the common man, to take away his right to protect his wife and kids in his own home?

Mr. Obama distinguished himself in several other votes as state senator. He voted a number of times AGAINST a bill that would  call for medical treatment for a baby who survived an abortion attempt.

In other words, State Senator Obama was insistent that medical treatment be withheld, which would lead to the certain death of the little individual writhing in agony before the abortionist.

I’m a common man. I don’t get the man who is now our president.

As president, he has made it clear that he is selective on which laws he is willing to enforce. His voting record is inconsistent, consistently lacking in common sense.

Ahlquist goes on to say that,

“When the law cannot be understood, it cannot be respected.”

Perhaps this explains the revulsion a majority of Americans have toward Obamacare. When former Speaker Pelosi famously said we had to pass it to find out what’s in it, she accelerated the legacy of cynicism toward the law by the common man.

What happens when the law becomes so incoherent, so irrational? According to G.K. Chesterton …

… people will “learn only enough law so as to avoid the policeman.”