Op-Ed: Governor and AG - Keep Your Oaths and Do Your Jobs! - Attorney, Brad Dacus, Pacific Justice Institute

While we all are waiting for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to hear the Proposition 8 case in early December, many proponents of traditional marriage are wondering what can be done in the meantime to further the chances of reversing federal District Judge Walkers’ pro-homosexual marriage ruling against it.

The answer: contact Governor Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown. Why? Well, it is the obligation of both the Governor and Attorney General to defend the California Constitution. And, since it was amended by the passage of Proposition 8, the California Constitution mandates that marriage be exclusively defined as a union between one man and one woman.

Unfortunately for the voters of California, Schwarzenegger and Brown have both deliberately chosen to ignore their sacred oaths of office by refusing to petition an appeal for the 9th Circuit to hear this case. And the consequences of their decision are far more than just one of abridging their oath.

Before the 9th Circuit can even rule on whether Proposition 8 violates the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, they must first decide whether PROTECTMARRIAGE.COM and the other private citizens appealing the case have standing to do so in the first place. And, the only reason this is an issue is because the persons who would have had standing, the Governor and Attorney General, decided not to do their jobs by refusing to file an appeal.

What happens then if the 9th Circuit finds that the defenders of Proposition 8 do not have standing? The 9th Circuit will then refuse to hear the case and the lower court decision ruling that homosexual couples have a constitutional right to marry remains in place, absent a contrary finding on standing by the US Supreme Court.

But the depth of the harm done here may be far greater than even the institution of marriage. It is the harm done to the whole survival of our republican form of government.

The initiative and proposition process exists to give a final opportunity to have the voice of the people heard when their elected politicians fail to act upon their voices through enacting legislation. Well, if Proposition 8 is tossed out because of lack of standing, then citizens wishing to pass an initiative or proposition at the ballot box will not be guaranteed to have their voices heard. Instead, the voice of the people at the ballot box to trump the inaction of politicians will only stand if the politicians who refused to act agree to defend it. Huh?

Your right, this doesn’t make any sense. But that is exactly the message America’s voters will hear if this Proposition 8 case is thrown out because the Governor and Attorney General failed to do their job to defend our state constitution and the will of the people.

But this inning is by no means over. They presently have until September 11th to do the right thing by filing their motion to appeal. In the meantime, in the name of preserving the integrity of our republican form of government (not to mention the definition of marriage) let California’s Governor and Attorney General know what you think about their refusal to keep their oaths.

(The Governor’s office may be contacted by calling 916-445-2841. The Attorney General may be contacted by calling 916-324-5437. Those wising to download petitions on this matter may do so by going to www.pji.org.)