The family of Kathryn Steinle, allegedly murdered by an illegal alien in San Francisco earlier this year, is no longer satisfied with talking to the media and waiting for politicians to get into motion and address the problem. Yesterday they began proceedings to sue the city of San Francisco, DHS and the federal Bureau of Land Management for their part in allowing their daughter to be shot down in cold blood. (ABC News)

The family alleges that a Bureau of Land Management ranger left his loaded service weapon in a backpack in plain view in his car when it was stolen in June…

Steinle’s parents filed three separate claims Tuesday seeking unspecified damages. If the claims are denied, the family could then file wrongful death lawsuits.

The family also filed claims against the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department and the Department of Homeland Security for failing to keep Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez in custody.

I know that I’ve railed against the seriously litigious nature of our society on more than one occasion here and I still maintain that it’s a serious issue which needs to be addressed. But by the same token, there is definitely a time and a place for seeking recourse in the courts and if the situation being faced by the Steinle family doesn’t qualify then I don’t know what does. But rather than simply seeking to line their own pockets, they are bringing a case which, if successful, could bring relief to a lot of other families and hopefully prevent more tragedies in the future. That’s not to say that they shouldn’t be compensated as part of the process. They should, even though no amount of money will bring their daughter back. As cynical as it may sound to say, sometimes being forced to write out a big check is the only way to get the attention of a bureaucracy.

Unfortunately, I don’t hold out a lot of hope for any serious changes at the federal level even if the Steinles prevail. Fixing this problem on a national level would require a revamped approach from the White House on down through the ranks, and that’s obviously not going to happen until the current Oval Office occupant sails off into retirement. But at the local level, this might have a lot more impact, not just in San Francisco, but in other sanctuary cities around the nation. Municipalities are far more accountable to their residents when it comes to the annual budget and if a big bite is taken out of it as payment for their reckless, politically correct behavior, the message may begin to sink in. And if San Francisco can be beaten in this fashion, the other cities will need to take a more serious and immediate look at their own policies of thwarting federal immigration control efforts just to prove how progressive they are.

Best of luck to the Steinles in their suit. This is a big mountain to climb because they are not only taking on City Hall, but the White House as well. But you never know… they just might pull it off.