Gold Butte Belongs to All of Us.

Across the nation, it was greeted with shock. Around the world, it was met with sneers & eye rolls. But in Ground Zero of this conflict, it's being referred to as "The Day the Law Died".

Yesterday, Let's Talk Nevada co-founder & editor Elaine Hurd went on "Ralston Reports" to talk with Jon Ralston about Cliven Bundy's Gold Butte showdown with the federal government. She's offered a unique perspective here, as she lives in Mesquite and had a front row seat to #BundyRanch long before national G-O-TEA groups turned this into a cause celebre and headline news around the world.



Even before #BundyRanch agitators celebrated their "Second Amendment Remedies" and considered using women as human shields, they were violating court orders and trespassing on federal property. All the "big government welfare" they've already received for over 100 years wasn't enough. They wanted even more.

Has avarice blinded the Bundy Gang to the simple fact that Gold Butte isn't their personal piggy bank to plunder? Gold Butte belongs to all of us. It's a national treasure that should be preserved for all of us to enjoy.



The Bundy Gang and national G-O-TEA astroturf outfits fail to recognize that Gold Butte is public land. That means Gold Butte belongs to all of us. When Cliven Bundy has been releasing his malnourished & neglected cattle into Gold Butte without abiding by the rules, he's ruining property that belongs to all of us. He's evading taxes he owes our duly elected government. He's violating court orders and endangering the desert tortoise and other wildlife that are critical to our local ecosystem. And he's threatening a national treasure that's meant for all of us to cherish.

In our nation of laws, no one is allowed to unilaterally change the rules. Cliven Bundy has broken the rules. The courts have already ruled against him. And sooner or later, law enforcement must be allowed to do its job, which is to enforce the law.

We realize that Cliven Bundy and his cattle are in a rough patch. Thanks to climate change, the Great Western Drought has become such a great threat. However, the solution to this problem is not for one person to break the law and desecrate property that belongs to all of us.

Gold Butte belongs to all of us. Therefore, we all deserve to have a say on how Gold Butte can e better preserved for future generations. And yes, this means Cliven Bundy and his renegade gang need to start obeying the laws that we've all agreed to live by.