Score One For The Good Guys

Tim Rollins Photo courtesy of Beth Rollins

Having lived in New York and still being registered to vote there, I get to vote in elections when they occur. In 1994, I enthusiastically voted for George Pataki, as I was not in the least bit happy with then-Governor Mario Cuomo. Taxes were at the confiscatory level, and many businesses had left the state to alleviate the burden that had fallen upon them by Nanny State East.

The election of 1994 proved to be quite a stunner – not only in New York, but across the country as well. At this point, an explanation is in order. In New York, there are five choices of registration for political parties: Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Conservative, Right to Life and Independent. George Pataki was in the New York State Senate when he ran as a Republican for Governor. The Conservative Party also endorsed him as well, but not the Right to Life Party on account of his support for abortion rights. Like I said, the 1994 midterm elections sent shock waves throughout America, the results of which are still being felt.

With the election of George Pataki as New York’s 53rd Governor and the first Republican-Conservative candidate to ride a ballot to the Governor’s Mansion in Albany, came many sweeping reforms in state government and the way they did business. It started with the passage, restoration of and signing into law of the death penalty, thus making New York the 37th state to have capital punishment, in addition to the Federal Government and the Military. Kansas later joined the list, bringing the current total to 38.

In his Annual State of the State addresses, he, like his colleagues in other states outlines his vision of what he has in store for the state while reviewing the accomplishments of the previous years. Among the other things he has done is beef up enforcement of existing laws, to include added protection for those involved in domestic disputes. It used to be in New York that if you violated a restraining order, it was treated like a nuisance violation – as if you had stolen a stick of gum. Pataki changed that and made it a felony.

In addition, he made it a requirement for those in the New York State Prison System to provide DNA samples. In 1994, during Mario Cuomo’s watch, the law required these DNA samples from those convicted of the most violent felonies to include murder, rape and assault. Last year, they added people convicted of gang assault, attempted murder, sodomy, witness intimidation or criminal use of a firearm. The prisoners have a choice – they either provide a sample or they go into solitary confinement – "The Box" as it is known. So far, 26,000 of the 70,000 prisoners in the State Prison System have provided DNA samples. Two inmates were less than cooperative and have resisted. Department of Correctional Services spokesman James Flateau said, "We held them down and we took it."

In an age of "rights" for the convicted, it is refreshing to see the state taking the lead in areas where they should, such as making sure that inmates know that their rights are suspended while they are in the joint. After all, had they not been stupid, violent, drunk, high or a combination of any of those factors, they would not be behind bars now, and as such, their protests about providing DNA samples have no validity as a basis of law.

For too long, criminals and their lawyers have been not just manipulating the judicial system – they have been sodomizing it in the name of "justice". The fact of the matter is that in the process of their doing so, real justice was denied to the victims and survivors for years. The cause was not aided any by liberal judges who took it upon themselves to be activists – in other words, instead of interpreting the law, they sought to create new law. That is something for state legislatures to do, and is one of the reasons we have three branches of government – legislative, executive and judicial. It’s called checks and balances and it prevents one branch of government from getting too powerful or overwhelming. It also serves a great way to reduce the chances of tyranny ever rising to the top in our government. The pledge of allegiance says, "One nation Under God – with liberty and justice for all."

With liberty and justice for all – that is a lesson that judges and legislators across the country would do well to learn.

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• Photo of Governor George Pataki courtesy of New York State Web Site

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Copyright © 2000 by Timothy Rollins.
All Rights Reserved.

-Published with permission