Mayor Van Duyne Deserves Thanks, Not Criticism

Twice this week, the Dallas Morning News attacked Beth Van Duyne, the mayor of the city of Irving, Texas. In a front-page article and unsigned editorial, the paper criticized the mayor’s conduct, maligned her motives and impugned her character.

Why such outrage? Mayor Van Duyne has publicly discussed a recent effort by Islamic supremacists in her community to institute a tribunal they hoped would be a model for dispensing shariah law all over the United States. Ms. Van Duyne concluded that her sworn duty to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution required her to oppose such an effort to promote an alternative and anti-constitutional legal system.

To her credit, the Mayor led her city council in formally rejecting the Islamic tribunal. She deserves our thanks, not the Morning News’ outrageous criticism.