Thread: TX: Judge Temporarily Halts Farmers Branch Rental Ban

Originally Posted by GoDawgs

Hey Dagmar, just wanted to say that I love your "remember the Alamo" items. I just checked them out! My dh has an ancestor who died at the Alamo, Daniel Cloud.

Thanks, I got the names of the defenders from the Daughters of the Alamo roster.

Daniel Cloud from KY? He's the second to the bottom on the left hand column of names on the flag.

"No judge should ever be allowed to overrule the voice of the voters. No judge should ever be allowed to create legislation. They also should not be allowed to stay in office for life. That is crap about the constitution. "


No judge, jury, nothing should override the voice of the people! We should start removing these traitor, scumbags one by one from office!

OPINION Viewpoints


In Farmers Branch and Washington, the will of the people is being ignored




06:58 AM CDT on Wednesday, May 23, 2007

If there is any force of nature stronger than the zeal of posturing politicians, it might be the propensity of unelected judges to thwart the public will.

In the past week, we've seen both.

Last week we saw the suspicious spectacle of the so-called bipartisan, landmark deal struck to send a proposal down the congressional pipeline that would instantly legalize millions of people who broke our laws to get here. That bill has since been riddled with attempted amendments so vast that it may wind up unrecognizable or unpassable.

Then this week, U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay issued a ruling asserting that the Farmers Branch ban on renting apartments to illegal aliens "conflicts with federal law."

First to the rental ban. I don't want to be Generic Hard-Line Columnist Guy on the immigration issue. I don't want to criticize Judge Lindsay's order simply because it interrupts something I believe in.

So I read it in its entirety to see if I could find any objective flaws. The concluding paragraph contains a whopper. "The court concludes that only the federal government may determine whether an individual is legally in the United States."

Excuse me, your honor? As millions of illegals have flooded into our nation, countless workplaces have been turned into de facto turnstiles for determining employment worthiness.

What is required to prove one's legal residency as one applies for a job? The same birth certificate, passport or green card that Farmers Branch wants apartment owners to ask for.

It is absurd to assert that a federal government office is the only place where people are asked to present evidence of legal residency or citizenship.

The judge further complains that Farmers Branch's criteria for rental-worthiness, which he derisively refers to as a "scheme," establish standards that differ from the federal definition of legal status.

That much is true, and kindness is at its root. Ordinance 2093 contains some exemptions for the elderly and family members of the "undocumented," so maybe the city just needs to dive in and ban 80-year-olds and parents of small children in order to achieve the consistency the judge seeks.

Presuming that is what he seeks. There is enough of a prickly tone in his writing that some activism may be afoot here. Farmers Branch officials will do their part to craft an ordinance that passes constitutional muster. Then we'll see if Judge Lindsay does his part and lets the will of the people come to pass.

In Washington, the people's will became clear about 30 seconds after a gaggle of self-congratulatory senators climbed down from the lectern last week after announcing the "compromise" that would legalize millions of unlawful immigrants.

People on the right didn't like it. People on the left didn't like it. Not one union endorsed it. The plan for nudging it along its path by Memorial Day has now been scrapped as critics have properly asserted that this 1,000-page beast might deserve a stronger leash than its protectors wanted.

It is easy to discern that while this bill may not meet the technical definition of amnesty, it meets a solid definition of weak, bad law. It is a wrist slap to millions who have broken our laws. It is a free pass to countless employers who have knowingly hired them.

It is a sucker punch to anyone on the entry ramp to the middle class – millions of people of various races and means who can use the jobs this bill will hand on silver platters to people who in many cases have no intention of becoming citizens.

It is filled with ridiculous rules that few will follow. Worst of all, it is a message that we remain unserious about maintaining tight borders and tough laws.

In the Farmers Branch case, Judge Lindsay needs a clearer view of what cities may do under the Constitution. Under the U.S. Capitol dome, our leaders need to ditch the phony air of imagined accomplishment and buckle down for a meaningful battle where someone wins and someone loses.

From Dallas Morning News.