SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Dori: Students mad at Republic police should also decry sanctuary cities

Nov 26, 2018, 4:14 PM

Republic...

The small town of Republic, WA. (AP)

(AP)

Local high school students are furious at the police chief in Republic, Washington. It’s a rural town in North-Central Washington, hours west of Spokane and east of Winthrop. It’s kind of in the middle of nowhere, with a long ways in between houses — and often, in between houses and the cops.

When I-1639 passed a few weeks ago, it did a lot of things. Now 18, 19, and 20-year-olds cannot buy some of the most popular sporting rifles in the world. Also, if your gun is stolen and used to commit a crime, you can be prosecuted.

Rural people tend to raise their kids with a healthy respect for guns and gun safety, and some feel that it’s not up to a bunch of Seattle-area liberals to tell them how to live their lives. As KIRO Radio’s Hanna Scott reported, Republic police chief, Loren Culp, announced that he is not going to enforce this initiative because it directly violates the state constitution.

RELATED: Dori: I love what a police chief in Republic is doing

After the initiative passed, Culp wrote the following on the Republic Police Department’s Facebook page:

The Republic City Council declares that all federal and state acts, laws, orders, rules and regulations past, present or future, in violation of the U.S. and/or State Constitutions are not authorized by the said Constitutions and violate the true meaning and intent as given by the Founders and Ratifiers and are hereby declared to be invalid in the City of Republic, shall not be recognized by the City of Republic, are specifically rejected by the City of Republic and shall be considered null and void and of no effect in the City of Republic.

So now, the Puget Sound student activists who were the faces of I-1639 are furious at the police chief for choosing which laws he will enforce.

I have a few questions for these high school students. Are you against sanctuary cities like Seattle, Everett, and Burien? Because in creating sanctuary cities, the political leaders have decided simply not to enforce certain federal laws that they don’t like.

Unless the high school kids who are railing against this Republic police chief are also willing to equally rail against Jenny Durkan, Dow Constantine, Bob Ferguson, Jay Inslee, and all of the radical left who have put sanctuary policies in place, then they are nothing more than a bunch of hypocrites.

RELATED: Lt. Col. Oliver North questions logic of I-1639

If you believe that the Republic police chief is wrong for not enforcing the law, but the liberal politicians in the Puget Sound are right for not enforcing the law — simply because of your political ideology — then you’re a hypocrite. And for the record, I said the same thing about the Republic police when this first broke.

As much as I agreed that the new initiative is unconstitutional and admired the police chief’s stance, I asked if he should have to enforce the new law as part of his job — just as I want our local politicians to enforce communicating with ICE and deporting illegals, as our laws mandate.

This is the problem with the left. If I disagree with the law, I don’t enforce it. If I like the law and you don’t enforce it, then you’re a horrible, evil person.

And by the way, speaking of sanctuary policy — let’s look at what it has brought our country. A 43-year-old named Jose Abarca, a repeat illegal alien from Mexico who had been previously deported, was just sentenced in Maryland to 25 years in prison for raping a deaf woman at gunpoint two decades ago. He had previously been deported, but he came back into the U.S. in 2017 illegally to get back to his wife and kids.

In another recent case, an illegal alien was arrested for multiple counts of rape after trying to get into the U.S. with a girl he claimed was his daughter. It turned out that the two were not related, and he was repeatedly sexually assaulting her. But, we can’t separate families, so we couldn’t separate these two people who appeared to be related.

RELATED: Dori’s listeners react to I-1639 passage

Let me get back to my point. To the high school kids who are aghast at the Republic police chief for choosing not to enforce I-1639, maybe, before you point your finger at a town in North-Central Washington, you should point your finger at your own Puget Sound cities and counties with public officials who don’t enforce the laws that they don’t like.

Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico speaks at a rally on Monday, July 13, 2026, in Eagle Pas...

Associated Press

Talarico is trying to win back Hispanics along the Texas border who swung toward the GOP

EAGLE PASS, Texas (AP) — The black campaign bus with “Talarico for Texas” across its side came to a steaming stop at Memo’s Restaurant along the U.S.-Mexico border. Bibi Valdez’s eyes lit up. She marched in heels over to the bus, phone camera trained on its door, chatting about the locals whose political leanings shifted […]

46 minutes ago

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., rushes up the steps at the Capitol for final votes before the House of...

Associated Press

How to run for reelection in a messy Congress? It’s not easy

WASHINGTON (AP) — House leaders sent lawmakers home for summer campaigning after one of the rockiest sessions in recent memory as voters decide which party to put in power in Congress for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term. For those seeking to stay in office, particularly the newest members, it can be a tough […]

55 minutes ago

Parkinson's...

Luke Duecy

‘It’s going to come quicker than we think’: Parkinson’s advocate shares hope for treatment as Allen Institute launches AI-powered initiative

When Lisa Volenec was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, she struggled to accept a future shaped by a neurological disorder with no cure.

1 hour ago

WA oil gas prices summer...

Jake Skorheim and Spike O'Neill Show

‘Long, hot, expensive summer at the pump’: Jake and Spike break down WA’s soaring gas prices

Jake and Spike recapped some of the factors contributing to rising gas prices, and why it's forecasted to be a "hot, expensive summer" in Seattle.

1 hour ago

wa supreme court undervote...

John Curley Show

‘They just left the ballot blank’: Future 42’s Steve Gordon warns undervoting could shape WA’s Supreme Court once again

Advocate warns that leaving ballots blank may reshape WA's Supreme Court. Educate yourself on the justices before voting.

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Americans rewire their grocery shopping routines while digesting the biggest price jump in 50 years

What’s for dinner? Lately, at Apral Jack’s house, it’s whatever is on sale. Jack, 50, scouts an app for deals at her local supermarket before she buys groceries. When she reaches the store, she looks in the weekly circular for coupons she might have missed. If shelf prices look too high, she tries to find […]

2 hours ago

Dori: Students mad at Republic police should also decry sanctuary cities