From Ed Sills at Harvey Kronberg's
http://www.quorumreport.com/buzz/buzz.cfm">Quorom Report (scroll down to November 2, 4:40 p.m.):
"'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.'" --Lewis Carroll
As a champion of the "strict constructionism" that gives full weight to the "plain text" in legal language, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott should know better.
Abbott has been insisting in media statements that Proposition 2, which purports to secure the definition of marriage in the Texas Constitution, is crystal clear. He even scheduled a news conference this morning with Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht to denounce the supposedly "deceptive" telephone ads attacking Proposition 2. The news conference was abruptly canceled, perhaps when Hecht realized he might not be able to rule on a marriage case if he stated his views in a public forum or perhaps when Abbott realized that attorneys general walk a dangerous path when they start trying to regulate the content of political speech.
Abbott might well be correct in his assertion that no elected judge would overturn civil or religious marriages in Texas off the language of Proposition 2, but he’s leaving out the rest of the story.
Unless he is following the political axiom, "When you’re wrong, shout it out!" one might wonder why an attorney general would claim credit for vetting the language of Prop. 2 when the erroneous wording is justifiably confusing lawyers and law professors.
The drafting of Proposition 2 was a tribute to the "We’ve got the votes" mentality that chokes off open-minded contemplation of any editing.
(Greg Abbott is a complete moran. His Democratic challenger,
David Van Os, is one of the newest members of DU. Please read
his response to this, and welcome him to the forum.)
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