Americans for Mitt, one of the cloned Mitt for Prez sites popping up all over, had a brief exchange with a reader, "J", who shared her correspondence with us. We sent it on to Robert Paine, Esq., the lawyer behind our Constitutional legal analysis of Romney's role in the homosexual "marriage" fiasco, who generously gave his valuable time to educate the Mitt clones around the country. Paine wrote:
Nathan [Americans for Mitt fellow],
You stated in an email to "J" [who had sent him a link to our "Romney Deception" report]:
Thanks again, but the Massachusetts Legislature is to blame for gay marriage, along with the Supreme Court. They had 180 days to act after the court ruling, but did not do so. Governor Romney can't single-handedly outlaw gay marriage, despite what Mass Resistance and others would have you believe.
and in another earlier one you said: Thanks for the warning "J", but that report has been out for three weeks. And much of it is a case of selective reporting.
You suffer from a case of selective reading or just an utter lack of knowledge. You make no sense. Before you start offering legal opinions, you might read the law and suppress your desire to write nonsensical gibberish. If you are going to blame others for gay marriage, you might want to read up a bit first.
Try starting with the Massachusetts Constitution where it says:
Article XXX. In the government of this commonwealth, the legislative department shall never exercise the executive and judicial powers, or either of them: the executive shall never exercise the legislative and judicial powers, or either of them: the judicial shall never exercise the legislative and executive powers, or either of them: to the end it may be a government of laws and not of men.
Then read the Goodridge case. In it you will find that the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) did not strike the marriage law which they said does not and never did permit same-sex marriage.
Then read Mitt Romney's own words in the Boston Globe (April 16, 2004):
‘‘I believe the reason that the court gave 180 days to the Legislature was to allow the Legislature the chance to look through the laws developed over the centuries and see how they should be adjusted or clarified for purposes of same-sex marriage; the Legislature didn’t do that,’’ Romney said.
Then go to the State House and research what the Legislature did in response to the SJC's "suggestion" that they change the laws. What you will find is that no laws have ever been changed in Massachusetts.
Then go back to the Constitution and read:
Article X. …(T)he people of this commonwealth are not controllable by any other laws than those to which their constitutional representative body have given their consent.
and read which of the three branches, the judiciary or the legislature or the supreme executive, legally has the authority to suspend a statute. There you will find that only the legislature can "make law," legislate, redefine, rewrite, etc.
Article XX. The power of suspending the laws, or the execution of the laws, ought never to be exercised but by the legislature, or by authority derived from it, to be exercised in such particular cases only as the legislature shall expressly provide for. [See Comm'r of Public Health v. The Bessie M. Burke Memorial Hospital, 366 Mass. 734 (1975) (“When one takes into account the historical basis of art. 20 in the attempts of the Crown to suspend the laws or operation of the laws without consent of Parliament,(fn13) one must agree with the occasional remarks in the decided cases that the core meaning of art. 20 is that only the Legislature, not the Executive or Judicial branches, may suspend an existing law.) ]
Then read Mitt Romney's May 2004 training powerpoint for Town Clerks:
Clerks should be ready to implement the new law on . . . May 17, 2004.
What new law? Which gets us to your nonsensical legal analysis . . .
How could the Legislature be responsible for gay marriage? They did nothing to institute gay marriage (granted they have in the past and continue to prevent the people from amending a constitution which already protects the institution of marriage, but "establishing" gay marriage rests with Romney). How could the SJC be responsible for gay marriage?
Is not the Executive Branch (Gov. Mitt Romney) a co-equal branch? Are there not three co-equal branches of government? Does that not mean that neither branch can point to another and say "the other made me do it"? There are three separate powers and three separate sets of duties and responsibilities.
The Massachusetts Constitution mandates that Romney, the Governor, is the "supreme executive." Only the supreme executive is permitted and obligated to execute the laws. Romney now acts like he had no choice, that the justices of the peace and town clerks are somehow not members of the executive branch and that they did this on their own ... But if they are not, why then did he threaten their jobs through his Legal Counsel saying that JP's must resign if they were unwilling to perform these illegal marriages?
Romney acts, like you just ignorantly claimed, as if the Legislature and the Judiciary have power over him. For Romney to claim that he can do nothing when the SJC violates the Constitution is to surrender democracy. Thomas Jefferson explains it this way:
"To consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions [is] a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy." O'Coin's Inc. v. Treasurer of the County of Worcester , 362 Mass. 507 (1972) (“It was certainly never intended that any one department, through the exercise of its acknowledged powers, should be able to prevent another department from fulfilling its responsibilities to the people under the Constitution.”)
Mitt Romney had and continues on a daily basis to have a constitutional responsibility to uphold the marriage law that has never been stricken, changed, amended, or repealed. That law prohibits gay marriage. Thus, Romney is a lawbreaker and a felon for violating his oath of office (subject to 20 years in prison).
Welcome to America. Separation of powers. Read the Constitution Nathan, it matters. No matter how much you claim otherwise by pointing to the Judges, to the legislators, to the rogue town clerks and JP's, this all comes back to who was in charge of executing the laws of Massachusetts.
Romney should have the courage and character to admit that contrary to many legal advisors' pleas, he made a political decision to suspend the constitution and the marriage laws of Massachusetts. He should admit that in hindsight that was a really bad decision, because it is about to end his chances of becoming president.
Imagine a truly contrite Governor Romney before the American people. Imagine if he announced to the people he was ending the fraud of gay marriage in America. Imagine who the next president might be. If that doesn't happen imagine where you will be on inauguration day 2009. Please save this letter and on that day I suggest you pull it out and send me an e-mail. I would love to hear where you were.
Sincerely,
Robert Paine, Esq.
RobertPaine.blogspot.com
