Matt Kokkonen’s letter in the Jan. 16 New Times (“Why change our laws to reward illegality?”) expresses disagreement with the California Supreme Court’s recent decision to grant a law license to an undocumented immigrant. He calls the decision “the peak of irrationality … pure idiocy … an insult … a slap in the face” and “stupid,” and claims that it “breaks down society’s understanding of law, standards, meaning, values, reason, natural order, and being.”
Wow. Apparently Mr. Kokkonen means this pile of pejoratives to apply not only to the unanimous California Supreme Court, but to all Californians and all Americans, since the decision was based largely on federal and California statutes specifically authorizing such action by the state.
Are we really all morons for having a government that would pass such statutes and reach such a result?
Or is it more accurate to say that this decision does not “reward illegality,” as Mr. Kokkonen says, but rather rewards the drive and talent of a young man who was brought to America at 17 months of age, got through college and law school, and passed the notoriously tough California Bar Exam on the first try?
Mr. Kokkonen’s true attitude toward the law he pretends to revere may show most clearly when he plays once again the worn-out “birther” card, questioning the legality of Obama’s election. Perhaps he should take his own advice and “get real.”
This article appears in Jan 23-30, 2014.
