The buzz on cable news and national talk shows this week is the tragic murder of San Franciscan Tony Bologna and his two young sons at the hands of an illegal alien. The brutal and senseless slaying occurred June 22 when El Salvadoran Edwin Ramos (allegedly) shot the three men after their car accidentally blocked his car’s path at an intersection. Such a crime would normally be chalked up as another big-city-violence statistic except that the perpetrator is an illegal alien with a long criminal record.
It’s probably no coincidence that Ramos was hiding in the Bay Area; San Francisco is a sanctuary city, refusing to cooperate in deporting those who have broken the law to enter our nation. That means San Francisco’s government publicly and proudly defies its very purpose for existence: to protect its citizens from criminals. Outside of this fundamental purpose, government should play a very limited role in citizens’ lives. But instead of protecting its residents from savages like Edwin Ramos, the city has actually spent taxpayer dollars to welcome and shelter them.
In the following PSA launched by the City of San Francisco earlier this year, Mayor Gavin Newsome declares that his city will make public services “safe and accessible for everyone.” Does this include the public roads driven by your legal residents, Mayor Newsom? The Bologna family experienced the exact opposite of “safe and accessible” on June 22. It seems that “safe and accessible” is meant only for those residents who refuse to abide by the law.
It’s also interesting to note that Ramos used an AK-47 in the murder of the Bolognas. How is it that an illegal alien—who was arrested in March for possessing a gun used in a double homicide—was not only allowed to get out of jail, but also own a rifle? This reinforces the argument that gun bans like those favored in San Francisco only harm innocent citizens, not the criminals who will always find a way to possess weapons.
The blood of Anthony, Michael and Matthew Bologna is on the hands of Mayor Newsom and his cohorts. As he launches his bid for governor of California, Newsom’s political opponents should hammer home this message to Californians. Already fed up with the illegal immigration problem, voters will find it impossible to support a candidate who prioritizes a politically-correct agenda above his constituents’ safety.
Californians also need to be reminded that it’s the Republicans—not the Democrats—who are taking action to protect citizens from illegal immigration and its attendant societal blight. Assembly and Senate Republicans are repeatedly stymied by the majority party in their attempts to pass any meaningful laws dealing with the problem.
AB 2141 by Assemblyman Van Tran would have required the Department of Corrections to verify the immigration status of any new prisoner and then cooperate with ICE in deporting illegal alien prisoners.
Assemblyman Bob Huff had four great bills: AB 2418 would have denied bail to illegal aliens arrested for violent or gang-related felonies; AB 2419 would have required police to check the immigration status of DUI suspects (they can already do so for illicit drug suspects); AB 2420 would have outlawed insane policies implemented in sanctuary cities like San Francisco that prohibit law enforcement officers from determining the immigration status of arrested suspects; AB 2421 would have required the state Attorney General or local authorities to investigate complaints about employers hiring unauthorized aliens.
Assemblyman John Benoit authored AB 2601, which would have ended certain state funding for sanctuary cities. These are just a handful of the bills Republicans have introduced to help curtail illegal immigration. None of them made it past their first committee hearing.
But the Democrats have been busy with their own aiding and abetting of illegal aliens: AB 2826 (Mendoza) would have placed an initiative on the ballot asking citizens an “advisory question” about whether to grant amnesty to illegal aliens. Although that bill didn’t make it far, two others will probably make it to Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk: SB 1301 (Cedillo) will give illegal aliens financial aid to attend our state’s universities; AB 2076 (Fuentes) prohibits California from utilizing the federal E-Verify program.
Voters need only look at bill authors and voting records to see that it’s the Republicans who truly care about the safety and prosperity of their constituents. As they head to the polls this election, they should ask themselves, How many people have to suffer or die before Democrats will do what’s best for our state?
July 28th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Package many of these bills into initiatives and the majority of the state will support it. Just like how the anti-molester bills were packaged into “Jessica’s Law”.
Fortunately for the Bolognas, Newsom’s governor campaign is basically deflated. Illegal immigration will be the lead balloon for his 2010 campaign.