Editorial: Do our leaders want us to follow the law or not?

We understand Shelley Luther’s desperation to reopen her Dallas hair salon, to get back to making a living. But her insistence on doing so in violation of the governor’s emergency order, and in defiance of a court order, is about something else altogether.

We don’t get to decide which laws we like, which laws we think should apply to us, and which ones we’d rather ignore. Certainly not in normal times, and especially not during the largest public health emergency of our lifetimes, when we have all been asked to make sacrifices to prevent the deadly spread of the coronavirus.

Luther’s rogue stunt to reopen her salon on her terms, weeks before Gov. Greg Abbott allowed hairdressers statewide to reopen, is deeply disappointing. Even more infuriating, Abbott and other GOP leaders have fallen over themselves in the past few days to absolve Luther of any responsibility for breaking the law. They have caved in to a movement that puts individual whims over public safety. They act as if they are bucking an oppressive regime, forgetting they are the ones in charge.

As the governor noted when he temporarily closed non-essential businesses last month, violators of his disaster-related executive orders can face a fine of up to $1,000 and up to 180 days in jail. Officials should always try to get compliance through education and persuasion. But sometimes penalties are needed as a last resort, as with Luther, who tore up the court’s cease-and-desist order and made a public spectacle of defying it. When she refused to apologize Tuesday, a judge gave her seven days in jail and a $7,000 fine for contempt of court.

Then came the GOP cavalry: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pledged to pay the $7,000 fine. Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter shaming the judge and demanding Luther’s release. Abbott revised his shut-down order retroactively, stripping away the jail penalty for violators, just as the Texas Supreme Court sprang Luther from jail. In a matter of hours, the state’s political establishment defanged what was left of the governor’s anti-coronavirus efforts.

Doing so was politically wrong-headed: A recent University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll showed 77% of Texans supported the stay-at-home orders, and two-thirds supported the closure of non-essential businesses. It was also a slap in the face to thousands of small business owners who played by the rules — closing up at great cost to themselves, their families and their staff — only to watch state leaders rally around a scofflaw.

Worst of all, with 973 Texans dead and more than 35,000 who have tested positive for the coronavirus, our state leaders have shown that playing politics is more important than enforcing the laws meant to keep us safe.