Letter to the editor: We don't get to pick and choose laws we obey

In her letter “Business owners standing up to Gov. Tom Wolf are patriots,” Shelia Hanson claims restaurant owners who defied Gov. Tom Wolf’s order suspending indoor dining are “patriots.” She bases this on the assertion that the orders are unconstitutional.

First, some real patriots, our Founding Fathers, put a court system in place to litigate the constitutionality of laws. Back in September, a federal judge in the Western District of Pennsylvania did rule against the constitutionality of several of Wolf’s measures, but that order was stayed (suspended) by a higher court pending an appeal. So to date, none of the governor’s orders has been declared unconstitutional.

Second, if we want to call ourselves a nation of laws, we as citizens don’t get to choose which laws we obey and which ones we do not. If I decide that traffic laws are a violation of my rights and I stop obeying them, does that make me a patriot? Of course not.

I feel for small restaurants losing income during these uncertain times. I definitely think our government leaders need to do more to help mom-and-pop businesses, especially restaurants. But members of our elected state government, on the recommendation of top medical scientists, and supported by the majority of Pennsylvanians, believe these measures are the right thing to do.

Lastly, let’s all save as much of our stimulus money as we can and, when it’s safe, support the brave restaurant owners who sacrificed and, to their own detriment, obeyed the law.

Bob Charlton

Springdale