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UndergroundJournal.net (An Open Letter to Limbaugh)
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(As signed by Paul Weyrich, Robert Knight, Atty. Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation and many other leaders.) Joint Letter to Governor Mitt Romney
December 22, 2006 Dear Governor Romney: You have a few weeks left in your term to take action on the issue of marriage. Contrary to opinions offered up by liberal commentators, liberal legal authorities, and perhaps even your own staff, you have the authority as Governor to reverse the damage that has been done to the sacred institution of marriage. The signatories below urge you to declare immediately that homosexual “marriage” licenses issued in violation of the law are illegal and to issue an order to all state and local officials to cease violating the law. As is increasingly well known, the Massachusetts Constitution denies the Judicial Branch any role in marriage policy:
In hearing the Goodridge case and issuing an opinion, four of the seven judges violated the Supreme Law of Massachusetts. Massachusetts courts have admitted, on other occasions, that neither they nor legislators, nor the governor are authorized to violate the Constitution: Nevertheless, after these judges issued an illegal opinion, you told the citizens of Massachusetts and all of America that you had no choice but to "execute the law." Oddly, you were not referring to a law, but to the judges’ opinion. ______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________ Your oath to uphold the Constitution requires treating an unconstitutional opinion as void (as President Thomas Jefferson did in Marbury v. Madison). You failed to do this. Nor did you treat it as an illegal ruling that affected only the specific plaintiffs (as Abraham Lincoln did, refusing to accept the Dred Scott ruling as law, pointing out that judges do not make law). Instead, you asserted that the court’s opinion was a “law" and thus binding. Though the Legislature never revoked the actual law, you issued – with no legal authority -- the first “homosexual marriage” licenses in American history. The Massachusetts Constitution does not confirm either your statements or your actions:
The Constitution also disproves your assertion to the nation that the marriage statute (M.G.L. Chapter 207) was somehow suspended or nullified by the four judges:
In light of both your actions and your explanations, it comes as a great surprise to many of us to learn that, under the Massachusetts Constitution, judges cannot suspend or alter statutes. This principle is clearly fundamental to Massachusetts' system of government and is restated in multiple ways.
We note that the Massachusetts Constitution so completely protects citizens from the rule of judges that even laws passed in the Colonial period before the Constitution itself was ratified cannot be suspended by judges:
We note, Governor, that in all of your justifications to the nation, there was no mention of these parts of the Constitution which you swore to defend. Why? Even this same court is forced to admit: "The Constitution as framed is the only guide. To change its terms is within the power of the people alone." (Opinion of the Justices, 220 Mass. 613, 618) We note Massachusetts Chief Justice Hutchison's words in 1767: "laws should be established, else Judges and Juries must go according to their Reason, that is, their Will" and "[T]he Judge should never be the Legislator: Because, then the Will of the Judge would be the Law: and this tends to a State of Slavery.' " As Judge Swift put it in 1795, courts "ought never to be allowed to depart from the well known boundaries of express law, into the wide fields of discretion." As for your claims about the authority of Goodridge and its illegal 180-day instruction to the Legislature, the same court had admitted in 1992 that they cannot issue an order to the legislature or the governor:
We also note this ruling in 1969: "an unconstitutional overreaching by the judiciary is an act that is “not only not warranted but, indeed, [is] precluded.” (Commonwealth v. Leis) We note that even the Goodridge majority said they were not suspending the marriage statute: “Here, no one argues that striking down the marriage laws is an appropriate form of relief."
Moreover, we note that nothing in the Goodridge ruling asked or pretended to authorize the governor to violate the statute in the event that the Legislature would not repeal it. We also note that the statute remains in the Massachusetts General Laws, and has never been stricken, suspended or nullified. The court itself has previously clarified your obligation: "But the statute, so long as it stands, imposes upon both branches [of the Legislature] uniformity of procedure so far as concerns this particular matter. One branch cannot ignore it without a repeal of the statute. A repeal can be accomplished only by affirmative vote of both branches and approval by the governor." (Dinan v. Swig, 223 Mass. 516, 519 (1916) Nevertheless, with no legislation authorizing you to do so, you ordered the Department of Public Health to change the words on marriage licenses from "husband" and "wife," to "Partner A" and "Partner B." Stunningly, you later admitted that without enabling legislation you cannot change birth certificates in a similar way. We note that, despite the court's admission that the statute prohibits “homosexual marriage,” and the Constitution's statement that only the Legislature can suspend laws, you ordered officials to perform homosexual marriages and thus violate the statute (a crime under c. 207 §48), and the oath of office by. Those who refused, you ordered to resign. This emboldened other local officials, including the mayor of Boston, to boast publicly that they would break the law by "marrying" out-of-state homosexual couples – also a crime under c. 207 §48. In summary, while the four judges asserted that Chapter 207 is unconstitutional, they did not suspend the marriage statute and were powerless to do so. The legislature has not changed or repealed it.
We note that you swore no oath to execute court opinions, but rather laws and the Constitution. The same Massachusetts high court itself said in 1986: [The Executive branch] must "be faithful to the words of the statute ... as written, and an event or contingency for which no provision has been made does not justify judicial [or Executive Branch] legislation." (Amherst v. Attorney General, 398 Mass. 793) You swore an oath to uphold the Constitution against assault from the other two branches. You swore on a Holy Bible, and said, "So help me, God." Your oath itself declares that it is violated on penalty of perjury, a felony. Like much of America, many of us accepted as sincere your explanations of your role in this social and constitutional crisis that is fundamentally altering the moral fabric of our culture and eroding basic building block of human society. We are now forced to look at your role, as constitutional sentry and a gatekeeper of our form of government, in a different light. We would be greatly disappointed if your principal contribution to history will be imposing homosexual marriage -- knowingly or unknowingly, willfully or negligently -- in violation of the state Constitution you swore to uphold.
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Signed, Paul Weyrich, Free Congress Foundation Dr. Chuck Baldwin, radio host, columnist *Gary Kreep, Esq., president, United States Justice Foundation Paul Likoudis, editor, The Wanderer Phil Lawler, editor, Catholic World News Dr. William Greene, RightMarch.com Rev. Scott Lively, Esq., Defend the Family Rev. Stephen Bennett, Stephen Bennett Ministries Sandy Rios, Culture Campaign Robert Knight, a draftsman of the federal Defense of Marriage Act John Haskins, Parents’ Rights Coalition (and The Underground Journal) Linda Harvey, Mission America Randy Thomasson, Campaign for Children and Families David E. Smith, Illinois Family Institute Rev. Ted Pike, National Prayer Network Diane Gramley, American Family Association of Pennsylvania Micah Clark, American Family Association of Indiana Kevin McCoy, West Virginia Family Foundation Stephen Cable, Vermont Center for American Cultural Renewal Joe Glover, Family Policy Network (National) Terry Moffitt, Family Policy Network of North Carolina Marnie Deaton, Family Policy Network of Virginia Danny Eason, Family Policy Network of Texas Matt Chancey, Family Policy Network of Alabama Ron Shank, Family Policy Network of Tennessee John R. Diggs, Jr., M.D., leading expert on the medical risks of homosexuality Dr. Paul Cameron, Family Research Institute Bill Cotter, Operation Rescue Boston R. T. Neary, ProLife Massachusetts, former president, Massachusetts Citizens for Life Mike O'Neil, CPF/The Fatherhood Coalition, Massachusetts Peter LaBarbera, Americans for Truth Michael Heath, Christian Civic League of Maine Gary Glenn, American Family Association of Michigan James Hartline, The Hartline Report Jan Markell, Olive Tree Ministries & Radio Bunny S. Galladora, Woman's Christian Temperance Union Sonja Dalton, Real Civil Rights Illinois Allyson Smith, Americans for Truth/California John F. Russo, Marriage & Family, Massachusetts Stacy Harp, Active Christian Media, host, The Right View Brian Camenker, MassResistance Rena Havens, Mothers Against Pedophilia Rev. Michael Carl, Constitution Party of Massachusetts Carl Parnell, author, From Schoolhouse to Courthouse Affiliations are listed for identification purposes only and do not imply a formal endorsement or commitment by those organizations. *Notes he has not had an opportunity to investigate punishable criminal consequences of violating the Massachusetts oath of office. Contact: John Haskins, 781-890-6001
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Founding dean of Regent University's Colleges of Law and Government, co-founder of the American Center for Law and Justice and practicing constitutional attorney, Professor Titus has influenced countless attorneys, legal scholars and judges. A world-class legal scholar revered by those who have come under his influence, one senses his love of his field and passion for restoring America in his writing and in his voice on these CD's. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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