Letter to the Editor re: Same-Sex Marriage

The following letter was written to the editors of the Bradenton Herald and the Sarasota Herald Tribune this past weekend:

Eight same-sex couples and the ACLU filed suit in federal court to make Florida recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where such marriages are legal—19 states and the District of Columbia.

Attorney General Pam Bondi says that to compel Florida to recognize such marriages would disrupt existing marriage laws and “impose significant harm.”  The love and companionship of any truly loving couple should trump anyone’s or any state’s “inconvenience”.  I’m sure the Virginia attorney general felt like Ms. Bondi does in the case of Loving v. Virginia when the Supreme Court ruled in 1967 that interracial marriage bans were unconstitutional.  Virginia’s marriage laws were not disrupted (other than being unable to ban such marriages) and I’m quite sure no harm was done.

Ms. Bondi apparently fails to recognize Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution, the Full Faith and Credit clause, which states that each state must recognize the public acts, credits, and judicial proceedings of every other state.  In addition, Section 2 states that the citizens of each state shall be accorded the privileges and immunities of citizens in all the other states.  Apparently those in power in Tallahassee wave the Constitution in everyone’s faces when it serves their purposes but conveniently ignore it when it is at odds with their purposes.  Ms. Bondi, being an officer of the court, has a duty to make sure all laws are applied equally and fairly.  When the basic law of our society states that Florida must recognize the acts of Washington, New York, Minnesota, Illinois, or the District of Columbia, it means just that.  No state is allowed to pick and choose which laws it wishes to honor.  It must accept all state laws of another state.  Florida agreed to do so when it decided to petition for statehood and again later when it rejoined the Union after the Civil War.  The Constitution is the compact that binds us all together, like it or not.  Let all honor that compact rather than trying to pick it apart when it suits our purposes.

If Florida persists in fighting this fight rather than conceding that the Constitution trumps any conflicting state law I would hope that, not only would the suit be won for those involved but also follow the current legal and societal trends of overturning Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage and recognizing all marriages, regardless.

 

It has yet to be published in either paper, but I am optimistic that it will be soon.

Denying Voting Rights in Florida

The lead story in this past Tuesday's Bradenton Herald was about the Supervisor of Elections, Mike Bennett's plan to reduce the number of polling places in Manatee County, FL.  Bennett, a career politician who was unable to run for re-election to the Florida House due to term limits, was elected to replace the former elections supervisor who was retiring.  Bennett, a Republican, is one of the most useless politicians it has been my displeasure have anything to do with--the most useless being Tommy Thompson when he was Governor of Wisconsin.  Marching alongside Florida Governor, Rick Scott, he is doing what he can to eliminate voting opportunities for minorities who live in the county. 

Unfortunately, the four Republicans on the County Commission voted to accept Bennett's plan while the sole Democrat voted against the plan.  Such is the life of a progressive in a blue collar Florida county.

The following is a letter to the editor which appeared in this morning's paper. 

Dear Editor:
I was disappointed, but not  surprised, upon opening Tuesday's Bradenton Herald to the news that Mike Bennett is planning on closing 30 polling places throughout Manatee County.   Walking lockstep with Republicans, both in Tallahassee and Washington, he is working on a plan to disenfranchise voters.  Voting is a right, not a priviledge reserved for WASPs like myself.

My dad was a member of the Greatest Generation.  I am a Vietnam veteran.  Never, in his wildest dreams, did Dad think he was fighting against Hitler and his goal of Aryan supremacy so that minorities could be hindered in that most basic of American freedoms--the freedom to vote for the people of one's choice.  I never thought that while enduring the Tet Offensive. 

If anything, the number of polling places and opportunities for early voting should be increased, not reduced.  To add to the confusion, Bennett wants to renumber the voting precincts.  Such a proposal does not streamline anything.  It only leads to more confusion and disenfranchisement.

Bennett says he was "quite surprised" at the reaction of others to his proposal.  When, Mr. Bennett, was this proposal widely publicized before it was presented to the County Board?  If this is the way you want to treat voters--the ones who elected you--then perhaps it will be time for you to look for a new job, come election time.
Dave Hilsheimer