Dan Richards, who heads the California Fish and Game Commission, is under fire in Sacramento because he killed a mountain lion in Idaho and posed with his trophy for a picture that was later published on a hunting publication’s website.

Forty Democratic legislators signed a letter to Richards saying he should resign. “Your actions raise serious questions about whether you respect the laws of the people of California and whether you are fit to adequately enforce those laws,” the lawmakers told Richards. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom later joined the chorus.

So, let’s get this straight.

First of all, Richards is not Dan Richard, who heads the state’s High-Speed Rail Authority and has more than enough controversy of his own.

Back to Richards, the Fish and Game Commission chairman.

Mountain lion hunting is illegal in California, thanks to a ballot measure approved by voters in 1990. However, it is not illegal for mountain lions to hunt human beings, as several attacks attest.

Nor is it illegal to hunt mountain lions in Idaho, and Richards’ trophy was perfectly legal. “I’m glad it’s legal in Idaho,” he told the Western Outdoor News website.

Richards appears to be guilty only of offending the sensibilities of the Legislature, whatever they may be.

This is the same Legislature that offends the sensibilities of most Californians, according to a recent Field Poll, because lawmakers habitually ignore important issues, carry bills of self-serving trivia, help special interests, and manipulate their schedules to maximize their incomes.

This is the same Legislature that didn’t react when one of its members was caught by police with a prostitute in his car, parked alongside a busy Los Angeles highway, or when another crashed her state-issued car while driving recklessly, injuring two people.

More recently, this is the same Legislature that didn’t respond when a member was nailed for shoplifting, or when another carried a loaded pistol into an airport security checkpoint.

As for Newsom, a politician who had an affair with his top campaign aide’s wife shouldn’t moralize.

Let’s dig a little deeper.

Should any political figure who does something legally elsewhere that is illegal in California also resign?

Should an official who legally hunts any animal or catches any fish elsewhere that’s protected in California be censured? Should one who legally bets on basketball in Reno be required to do penance in California?

Same-sex marriages still are illegal in California, although that may, thankfully, change soon. Would it be improper for a gay or lesbian legislator to legally marry in another state?

The letter to Richards is the sort of hypocritical, politically correct claptrap for which the Legislature has become justly infamous.

Dan Walters is a Sacramento Bee columnist.