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| Extremely Contagious |
I first noticed it a couple of years ago when the POTUS unilaterally declared DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act), passed by a bi-partisan Congress, to be unconstitutional and directed his Attorney General (Holder) not to defend it. Next, after the ACA (Obamacare) law passed and the Supreme Court said, yes indeedy it was constitutional, lo and behold, the disease popped up again when the POTUS, on no less than 24 separate occasions, unilaterally made changes to it (bypassed Congress).
The next wave of this disease hit right after the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that a section of the DOMA law was indeed unconstitutional as it pertained to the Federal government while at the same time declining to hear the California Proposition 8 case due to lack of standing on the part of those defending it.
[Quick note here - California Prop 8 was a constitutional amendment overwhelmingly voted into law that defined marriage as between one man, one woman which when challenged by same sex couples, the California Attorney General unilaterally declared it to be unconstitutional and would not defend it. Defenders of the law brought it all the way up to the Supremes who ruled they didn't have standing for it to be heard by them.]
The disease spread rapidly as each of the Attorneys General in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Nevada, and Virginia unilaterally declared their marriage amendment law unconstitutional and refused to defend it. I am only going to address Virginia due to (a) that's where I live, and (b) because Virginia may be unique in that Attorney General Herring is taking an active part aiding the plaintiffs in every step to overturn a marriage amendment he, himself, voted for while in the 2006 Virginia legislature. This even as two named defendants of the Commonwealth continue to defend the amendment. Below I have included portions of my letter which appeared in the local newspaper January 26, 2014:
"Virginia's new Attorney General, Mark Herring, has stated neither he nor his office will defend the state's constitutional marriage amendment, legally adopted by vote of 57 percent of Virginians in 2006 and a law he voted for while in the General Assembly. Additionally, in a move that totally boggles the mind, Herring has the audacity to file a brief on behalf of the plaintiffs* and participate in challenging that law. This is a total violation of his duty to faithfully execute his duties. His oath was a lie, and we have been snookered.
Herring made this unilateral decision, he said, "after conversations with friends and family that the state's constitutional amendment defining marriage is unconstitutional.".....He also said he based his decision on last year's Supreme Court decisions regarding the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California's Prop. 8 but neither of those rulings invalidated state marriage amendments. So, what constitutional authority gives him the ability to make this unilateral decision and affords him the opportunity to totally disregard his oath of office? The proper venue for such a decision lies with the courts....
This seems to be a trend with certain politicians that can only be regarded as dangerous to the normal course of the rule of law. We have seen total disregard for enforcing established law from as high up as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the President.....
As citizens, we do not have the luxury of deciding which laws we will or will not follow without facing the consequences of such folly and certainly those individuals who are our elected leaders are not above the law. Those leaders who fail in their sworn duty to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the constitution of their state should be subject to immediate sanctions and ultimate removal from office.....this travesty on the American people must stop."
Well, a federal judge in Norfolk, VA ruled the law to be unconstitutional and it is currently on appeal to be heard in May. Mr. Herring has submitted his papers for the appeal and I'm sure intends to follow this all the way to the Supreme Court; however, the way will not be made easy for him.
Every state's constitution or laws have remedies for such blatant misbehavior as exhibited by Mr. Herring as well as any other elected or appointed official who fails in their duty to follow the rule of law, be it impeachment, recall or disbarment proceedings. It is never enough to just bemoan the circumstances - it behooves all of us to get off our 'duff' and put words into action. What will be next - guns, abortion, prayer, taking of private property? 'Next' is already here!
[*Clarification: he did not actually file on behalf of the plaintiffs per se; he did however file a brief on behalf of one of the Commonwealth defendants citing a 'change in position', urging the judge to rule the marriage amendment to be unconstitutional while two other defendants of the Commonwealth are holding their position of defending the marriage amendment. Confused?]
The next wave of this disease hit right after the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that a section of the DOMA law was indeed unconstitutional as it pertained to the Federal government while at the same time declining to hear the California Proposition 8 case due to lack of standing on the part of those defending it.
[Quick note here - California Prop 8 was a constitutional amendment overwhelmingly voted into law that defined marriage as between one man, one woman which when challenged by same sex couples, the California Attorney General unilaterally declared it to be unconstitutional and would not defend it. Defenders of the law brought it all the way up to the Supremes who ruled they didn't have standing for it to be heard by them.]
The disease spread rapidly as each of the Attorneys General in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Nevada, and Virginia unilaterally declared their marriage amendment law unconstitutional and refused to defend it. I am only going to address Virginia due to (a) that's where I live, and (b) because Virginia may be unique in that Attorney General Herring is taking an active part aiding the plaintiffs in every step to overturn a marriage amendment he, himself, voted for while in the 2006 Virginia legislature. This even as two named defendants of the Commonwealth continue to defend the amendment. Below I have included portions of my letter which appeared in the local newspaper January 26, 2014:
"Virginia's new Attorney General, Mark Herring, has stated neither he nor his office will defend the state's constitutional marriage amendment, legally adopted by vote of 57 percent of Virginians in 2006 and a law he voted for while in the General Assembly. Additionally, in a move that totally boggles the mind, Herring has the audacity to file a brief on behalf of the plaintiffs* and participate in challenging that law. This is a total violation of his duty to faithfully execute his duties. His oath was a lie, and we have been snookered.
Herring made this unilateral decision, he said, "after conversations with friends and family that the state's constitutional amendment defining marriage is unconstitutional.".....He also said he based his decision on last year's Supreme Court decisions regarding the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California's Prop. 8 but neither of those rulings invalidated state marriage amendments. So, what constitutional authority gives him the ability to make this unilateral decision and affords him the opportunity to totally disregard his oath of office? The proper venue for such a decision lies with the courts....
This seems to be a trend with certain politicians that can only be regarded as dangerous to the normal course of the rule of law. We have seen total disregard for enforcing established law from as high up as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the President.....
As citizens, we do not have the luxury of deciding which laws we will or will not follow without facing the consequences of such folly and certainly those individuals who are our elected leaders are not above the law. Those leaders who fail in their sworn duty to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the constitution of their state should be subject to immediate sanctions and ultimate removal from office.....this travesty on the American people must stop."
Well, a federal judge in Norfolk, VA ruled the law to be unconstitutional and it is currently on appeal to be heard in May. Mr. Herring has submitted his papers for the appeal and I'm sure intends to follow this all the way to the Supreme Court; however, the way will not be made easy for him.
Every state's constitution or laws have remedies for such blatant misbehavior as exhibited by Mr. Herring as well as any other elected or appointed official who fails in their duty to follow the rule of law, be it impeachment, recall or disbarment proceedings. It is never enough to just bemoan the circumstances - it behooves all of us to get off our 'duff' and put words into action. What will be next - guns, abortion, prayer, taking of private property? 'Next' is already here!
[*Clarification: he did not actually file on behalf of the plaintiffs per se; he did however file a brief on behalf of one of the Commonwealth defendants citing a 'change in position', urging the judge to rule the marriage amendment to be unconstitutional while two other defendants of the Commonwealth are holding their position of defending the marriage amendment. Confused?]
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