Gov. Romney Can Become a National Hero by Refusing to
Enforce the Gay Marriage Opinion
By Attorney J. Edward Pawlick, Founder of
Massachusetts News
Gov. Mitt Romney
will become a Massachusetts hero --- and a national one as well ---
if he simply refuses to enforce the illegal gay marriage opinion
imposed upon the state by SJC Chief Justice Margaret Marshall on Nov.
18, 2003.
There were six Associate
Justices who were ruling on that November day. Three signed the opinion
but three refused to do so and passionately wrote that what the court
was doing was not only wrong, it was clearly illegal. This created
a tie among the Associate Justices. It became necessary, therefore,
for Marshall herself to cast the deciding vote as to whether she had
violated the law.
If she had done the
honorable thing and refused to vote (which was required because she
had spoken favorably about gay marriage to a homosexual group in 1999),
the vote would have ended as a tie and the famous gay marriage lawsuit
would have been defeated.
It must also be noted
that Marshall is very sly. She was careful to put nothing in her opinion
that could possibly allow anyone to appeal to a federal court. As
long as her opinion was based solely on Massachusetts law, the decision
could not be appealed.
However, even though
neither Gov. Romney nor anyone can appeal the decision, the Governor also can not enforce an illegal
order from any court. As the famous English authority, Blackstone,
said: “If the governor allows [an illegal] court order to go unchallenged,
then he would fail to ‘take care’ that the ‘law’ ... is ‘faithfully
executed.’”
Gov. Romney’s duty
at this time is clear. He is required
to ignore the illegal ruling from Justice Marshall and enforce the
law.
There is one other
matter that must be explained. When voting on a case, the Chief Justice
has no more power than any other Justice. The vote of Margaret Marshall
was no more important or any less important than the vote of any other
Justice.
Suggested
Before by Many People
This subject
has been suggested before, as early as 2003 and as late as Dec. 2005,
by many people. The latest was an article in WorldNetDaily by John
Haskins, who was a writer for MassNews for a short period after he
first returned from studying at Oxford and then was a freelancer with
Brian Camenker, with whom he is still associated as well as others.
Haskins wrote the
article for WorldNetDaily on Dec. 24, 2005 and did an excellent job
for a non-lawyer. But he needed the help of me or some other experienced
lawyer who is on his side (a very difficult assignment in this state
which has been radical- liberal until very recently) to navigate the
treacherous terrain of this monumental and historic topic. (I have
just retired in order to write a novel and am anxious to get started
inasmuch as I am now in my 80th year.)
The important message
to the citizens now is: Gov.
Romney can end gay marriage immediately and become a truly national
figure if he has the fortitude to do so.
If he does not
do so, then Rep. Emile Goguen (D-Fitchburg) will climax his career
by removing Marshall (and her three associates) before he retires
at the end of the year and Romney will be seen as a wimp by the entire
nation.
Romney
Will Be Compared with President Andrew Jackson
When the smoke clears from this
battle with the judicial branch led by Judge Marshall, Gov. Romney
will inevitably be compared with President Andrew Jackson who also
had such a battle in 1832 with the first, and famous, Chief Justice
of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Marshall. “Old Hickory” is reputed
to have said: "John Marshall has made his decision, now let
him enforce it.” Although President Jackson was not one to break the
law of his beloved country, there’s no question who is at fault here
in Massachusetts in 2006. It is the judicial branch.
The question is whether Gov. Romney
has the fortitude to protect this state’s Constitution and its citizens,
as well as the citizens of the entire nation. The whole nation will
be watching.
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