Passing burdensome legislation is one of the many things that is not “new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Even in Biblical times, this was a common practice for policy-makers:
“The scribes and the Pharisees…tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men…” (Matthew 23:2, 4 NASB).
Although Congress remains deadlocked and not much is moving forward right now, local governments are still busy passing legislation to infringe on everyday lives. The NYC Commission on Human Rights published new guidelines on how to refer to undocumented immigrants, announcing “The use of the term ‘illegal alien’… is illegal under the law,” with fines of up to $250,000 if violated.
NYC employers and landlords can also be fined up to $250,000 for “using gender pronouns other than those preferred by employees and tenants.” But even this ridiculous policy is not as onerous as the one in California that imposes up to one year imprisonment for “California health care workers who ‘willfully and repeatedly’ decline to use a senior transgender patient's ‘preferred name or pronouns.’”
Meanwhile, traditional laws for the protection of all citizens are being set aside. California Governor Gavin Newsom recently reversed a law requiring citizens to assist local law enforcement. And on the other coast: “A Virginia police officer was suspended after allegedly turning over a suspected undocumented immigrant to federal authorities following a traffic accident last month.”
When policy-makers encourages lawlessness, law and order becomes null and void.
James Madison warned of such trigger-happy legislation, writing: “The internal effects of a mutable [ever-changing] policy are…calamitous [disastrous]. It poisons the blessing of liberty itself. It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous [numerous] that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood—if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated [passed], or undergo such incessant changes that no man who knows what the law is today can guess what it will be tomorrow.”
The Chief Lawmaker of the universe gave Ten Commandments for humanity to follow, so why do fallible lawmakers believe it necessary to impose hundreds of thousands of regulations on local constituents? In the words of Jesus: “Woe to you…[You] have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (Matthew 23:23-24 NASB).
And woe to those policy-makers who make government a personal weapon to micro-regulate behavior according to the ever-changing winds of political correctness while ignoring the true purpose of law and government.
Foundations of Truth hereby waives all claim of copyright (economic and moral) in this work and immediately places it in the public domain; it may be used, published, edited, and distributed in any manner whatsoever without any attribution or notice to Foundations of Truth.
1 NYC commission on human rights announces new legal enforcement guidance and actions against discrimination based on immigration status and national origin. Retrieved from https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/cchr/downloads/pdf/press-releases/Immigration_Guidance_Press_Release.pdf
2 Gallagher, T. (2019, October 1). Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/guiliani-i-was-investigating-hillary-clinton-and-the-democrats-cooperating-with-ukrainians
3 Singman, B. (2017, October 9). New California law allows jail time for using wrong gender pronoun, sponsor denies that would happen. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-california-law-allows-jail-time-for-using-wrong-gender-pronoun-sponsor-denies-that-would-happen
4 DeMarche, E. (2019, September 4). California’s Newsom signs bill allowing citizens to refuse to help a police officer. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/californias-newsom-signs-bill-allowing-citizen-to-refuse-to-help-a-police-officer
5 Casiano, L. (2019, October 1). Virginia police officer suspended after turning in suspected undocumented immigrant over to ICE. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/us/virginia-police-officer-suspended-after-turning-in-suspected-undocumented-immigrant-over-to-ice
6 Madison, J. (1788, February 27). The Federalist No. 62. Retrieved from https://www.constitution.org/fed/federa62.htm
