Bryan Fischer, the executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance, stepped close to the ledge of playing to mob mentality at his site Wednesday.

Here's what Fischer had to say, in reaction to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declares unconstitutional the execution of child molesters.

"The whole purpose of civil government, according to the Scriptures, is to provide justice for the victims of crimes against their persons or property. When the justice system fails its victims, as it has here, people’s thoughts turn to vigilante justice, which leads to anarchy and chaos. This is exactly why we must have a legal system that dispenses justice swiftly and fairly.

"While it cannot be justified, we should not be surprised if we begin to see more individuals taking the law into their hands as they deal with the immense frustration of being victimized twice – once by the perpetrator and a second time by a justice system that is supposed to be on their side."

This isn't about the pros and cons of the Supreme Court ruling, or about the merits of the death penalty. This is really about sympathizing with vigilante justice. Fischer doesn't do that, and says this behavior "cannot be justified," but he certainly doesn't come across as unsympathetic to
would-be vigilantes. Fischer says vigilante justice leads to "anarchy and chaos," yet suggests the Supreme Court has helped to enable a vigilante mindset.

That's dangerous, especially coming from someone who aspires to influence public policy. I pray — and I'm not being at all flippant here — that Fischer's readers recognize this.