Rape Ruling

* The recent act of the Supreme Court in striking down the Violence Against Women Act (May 16) shows once again what it means to live under constitutional government: Congress is not free to pass feel-good laws to curry favor with feminists and other interest groups. Matters such as rape are topics par excellence for state and local law.

Similarly, Gov. Gray Davis seeks to curry favor with teacher unions by exempting their members from state income tax. This will fail, for it violates the 14th Amendment. That amendment guarantees to all the “equal protection of the laws.” It means that you can’t get special rights by being a teacher or by being of a particular race. Instead, the law is to apply equally to all of us.

T.A. HEPPENHEIMER

Fountain Valley