California is Still Very Much America

When I spoke at the Patriot Movement Arizona rally in early March, I heard a lot of people say “Make California America Again.” A former Navy seal who later ran for Congress made the same joke to me when he was out of state. “I’m not in California right now. I’m in America.”

Those comments really incensed me, though. Four and a half million Californians voted for Trump in 2016. Even though the state legislature has gone full-tilt communist, Californians up and down the state are rising up against the state legislature, which has become destructive to the ends for which governments are instituted among men. The media won’t cover these restorative trends emerging throughout the state, so here goes. Entire counties in North State (Siskiyou, Tehama, Shasta, and El Dorado) have resolutely refused to comply with California’s sanctuary state insanity. Kern County has also joined that list.

Then the cities started rising up. On March 19^th, 2018, the Los Alamitos City Council passed their first draft of the official Constitution Compliance ordinance, rejecting California’s ill-conceived, abusive, unconstitutional sanctuary state law. In spite of a massive crowd from within the city and throughout the region, plus intimidation from the ACLU, the city council voted 4-to-1 for the ordinance. On April 16^th, they will vote for the second reading and make it official. March 19^thwill be viewed as a historic day in California and for the country, not a date of infamy, but defiance against the arrogant, narrow-minded political establishment, conservative and liberal, as well as the well-wishing yet cynical media.

Los Alamitos fired the Second Shot Heard Round the World, and the fight hasn’t stopped here. The little city with a world-renowned race-track took the risk, and it is paying off. Within days, Yorba Linda, CA (the birthplace of Richard Nixon) filed an amicus brief with Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s lawsuit against California’s sanctuary state policies. Then the Orange County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution condemning the sanctuary state law and filed their own amicus brief in turn. I was there, and the thrill of victory filled the chamber, even while open border zealots and left-wing interest groups pouted in disgust as the Board unanimously voted to defy the lawless state legislature.

Then another welcome surprise emerged on the breaking news horizon: Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens has published all the release times for inmates in her county jail, legal or illegal! This move skirts the demonic spirit of the sanctuary state law and put the lawless statewide law enforcement officials (like California Attorney General Xavier Becerra) in a worse bind. Becerra then had to face a crushing press conference in which he was forced to answer whether he planned to prosecute Sheriff Hutchens. Laughably, he told the press corps that he would uphold state law. Funny! The state legislature routinely flouts their own rules, and they pass legislation defying federal law. The Democrats in Sacramento started out threatening cities and private businesses. Now they are feeling the heat.

The winning didn’t stop that day. Quickly, I dashed over to Buena Park in North Orange County, the location of Knott’s Berry Farm. One city councilmember was prepared to seek a resolution against SB 54, too, but backed off at the last minute. I fired back during public comment. Now more than ever, we need elected officials to protect citizens, our law enforcement, and most importantly the rule of law! Then I dashed down to Mission Viejo. For the first time in three years, I attended a city council meeting where likeminded, pro-American patriots outnumbered the vocal yet viciously ignorant opposition.

Naui Huitzilopochtli was there, too, the man who has routinely harassed women, children, and people of color over their pro-enforcement views. Not only was he outnumbered, but Mission Viejo Mayor Ed Sachs slammed him for his repeated interruptions and outbursts in the city council chambers: “Some people don’t seem to realize that this country is the last place on earth where you can say whatever you want, even if it means the right to act like a buffoon!” The whole chamber rocked with laughter at the bigot in our midst. The city council then voted unanimously to approve a resolution condemning SB 54 and join the DOJ lawsuit with an amicus brief.

It was a stunning victory. It is nothing short of a dream now becoming a reality. The cities of Escondido, San Juan Capistrano, and now San Diego County are joining the fight! Granted, residents in droves are fleeing California. Businesses are closing, and homeowners can’t sell off fast enough. U-Haul companies are running out of trucks to rent to customers ready to move out of California. But for me, and for many of my conservative friends, we are not leaving. Why should we have to pull up stakes and run from the state where we were born, which we call home? The American colonists didn’t run away when the British came. They stood up and fought back.

So are we Californians, for California is still very much America—and worth fighting for!