I noticed some news reports recently. This was the first.

A lawsuit filed by the city of Charlottesville, businesses and neighborhood groups was resolved July 12 after Jason Kessler — an organizer of the Aug. 12 “Unite the Right” rally — became the final defendant to sign a consent decree that requires him to use his “best efforts” to discourage coordinated, armed activity at any future rallies in Charlottesville.

The immediately obvious bit of irony was that these groups are agreeing to take positive, definite action. Presumably to enforce laws. The Charlottesville police, on the other hand…

Standing nearby, an assortment of Virginia State Police troopers and Charlottesville police wearing protective gear watched silently from behind an array of metal barricades — and did nothing.

And you know what… sure, you do, since you’re a TZP reader. The police aren’t required to act. Pretty much at all.

Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine in United States federal law that shields government officials from being sued for discretionary actions performed within their official capacity, unless their actions violated “clearly established” federal law or constitutional rights.[1] Qualified immunity thus protects officials who “make reasonable but mistaken judgments about open legal questions,”[2] but does not protect “the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law”[3].

But private groups, with no law enforcement powers, are?

Apparently so. The next story I spotted:

“Depending on the situation, if a business with fewer than 50 employees fails to ‘provide a safe refuge for a child who had physical injury inflicted upon him or is in imminent danger of such injury until authorities arrive,’ the business would be subject to penalties to be determined by the commissioner of the state Office of Children and Family Services.”

Please note that this is in response to the killing of a kid, by a Dominican Republic-based gang, in which the store owner did take in the kid, called 911 for official help…

And the official help failed to turn up in a timely fashion. Why not? They have no legal obligation to do so.

But the bodega owner will. Just like the Charlottesville protest groups. But not the Charlottesville police.

In New York City, it’s tough to be lawfully armed, unless you’re wealthy or politically connected. If Charlottesville politicians have their way, it would be the same there.

But you just might be legally responsible for enforcing laws. While unarmed. At this rate, the powers that be might as well make the citizens legally responsible for proving the — armed — police with donuts.

Guess again, bozos. You’re giving us that many more reasons to never disarm.

Carl is an unpaid TZP volunteer. If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in his tip jar. He could use the money, what with truck repairs and recurring bills.