By DR. LARRY MOSES

No one asked me but… Kody Brown now openly lives in Las Vegas. He moved there from Utah County, Utah just ahead of the sheriff’s posse.

The Utah authorities are well aware of where Kody is so why has Kody not been extradited to Utah? Because Utah authorities have not asked for his return, and really don’t want him back.

It is rather interesting that a fleeing felon has not been pursued nor has the State of Nevada been ask to return him to Utah for trial. Before you get your gun and lock your doors to protect you from this vicious criminal let me assure you, you have nothing to fear from Kody Brown and his gang.

Kody’s crime is that he is one of the most notorious polygamists in the United States. We are all aware of the polygamist raids on the settlement in Texas. And Colorado City is a running gag in our family. Many people are aware of these two polygamy strongholds.

But even more people are aware of Kody’s situation. He and his four wives are the stars of the TLC program “Sister Wives.” I must admit I have never watched the show and really don’t care how many wives the man has. What I do find interesting is that Kody is suing the State of Utah and Utah County. He hopes to have the Utah law he has fled declared un-Constitutional.

Kody is contending the law under which he was indicted in Utah violates his rights under the First Amendment of the Constitution. The Utah law is one of the most comprehensive polygamy laws in the United States. It is not only illegal in the State of Utah to have more than one wife; it is against the law to claim to be married to more than one woman. This law also states it is illegal to live with a woman to which you are not married. Much of the issue on polygamy comes from the fact that the State of Utah had to ban polygamy as a condition for statehood. The State of Nevada would have gladly made that agreement if it could have kept its land.

The Utah County Attorney has ask the Judge to drop the lawsuit that Brown has brought against him and others as he has closed the case and will no longer prosecute Mr. Brown. He does not deny Brown violated the Utah State and Utah County Law against polygamy but since he is no longer pursuing the case against Brown, he believes Brown’s case has no standing in court.

But the judge asked: What about the other 30,000 polygamist in the State? The governor has guaranteed the judge that a polygamist is safe as long as he commits no other crime in the State of Utah. It is kind of like the seatbelt law in Nevada. You can drive without your seatbelt but if you speed, the violation of the seatbelt law will be added to the charges.

In a country where we are quickly moving to a civil acceptance of a man marrying a man and a woman marrying a woman, it seems ludicrous to limit a marriage to two people.

What I find interesting is that men are sent to prison for violating polygamy laws but I have never heard of a woman who chose to live in a multiple marriage ever being prosecuted. Surely if it is against the law for a man to live in a multiple marriage situation, it must be illegal for the woman as well. This may be a great example of gender inequality. Apparently, the woman is a victim of her choice.

However, the fact that one day our civil marriage laws may degenerate to a point where it will be legal to marry your goat is not really the issue I find most interesting. The reaction to the Utah law by their major law enforcement agencies of randomly selecting which law they will enforce and which they openly chose to ignore is intriguing.

What an interesting world of law enforcement we are now entering. We have legislatures passing laws and those in the executive branch choosing not to enforce those laws. The fact not withstanding that the oath of office for all executives includes their pledge to enforce the laws of the nation and the states they lead.

One of the earliest examples of selective enforcement of law was the Cherokee Nation v. Georgia Supreme Court Case. When in 1831, Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in favor of the Cherokee Nation against the State of Georgia as it attempted to confiscate lands held by the Indians. When told of the court decision, it is alleged that President Jackson’s reply was “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it! I have the army.” The lands were confiscated by the State of Georgia.

A recent example of selective law enforcement is the Obama administration’s view on the illegal immigrant in America. If the illegal has committed no other crime than entering America illegally, Obama and his legal team have no desire to prosecute that individual.

While the attorney general of the United States has successfully sued the state of Arizona for enforcing a law that mirrors the federal law on immigration, it will take no action against local governments who declare themselves sanctuary cities in open violation of federal law. The federal government has gone so far as to try to criminalize the actions of a local sheriff who has tried to enforce federal law.

The city of San Francisco has an interesting take on smoking ban laws. It is illegal to light up a cigarette in public. Those who do so will be cited and fined. However, if you openly smoke pot in public, it will be ignored. Do you ever feel as if you fell down the rabbit hole along with Alice?

If you are not going to enforce a law, repeal it. If the legislature, who has the responsibility of passing laws, will not repeal the law, enforce it. This is the way a representative government functioning under a Constitution is supposed to work.

Thought of the week… If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense.

– Alice in Wonderland