Perhaps correct but symbolic

This comes from Delegate Don Dwyer, who represents Anne Arundel County in the General Assembly. He’s seeking to impeach current Attorney General Doug Gansler for a recent decision of his:

On Wednesday, February 24, 2010, the Attorney General released an official opinion allowing out of state same sex marriages be recognized under Maryland law. This action circumvents and usurps the authority of the Maryland General Assembly.

In 2007, after months of discussion and debate, Maryland’s High Court determined that the issue of same sex marriage was up to the General Assembly to decide.

By his actions today, the Attorney General has clearly violated his oath of office and has usurped the authority of the General Assembly.

Delegate Dwyer said, “Attorney General Gansler has violated the public trust by his actions and he will be held accountable.”

It goes without saying that this won’t go far as Republicans don’t have the necessary votes to bring the impeachment matter through. But it also brings out the differences of opinion regarding marriage and perhaps is a legitimate question about the separation of powers.

At its root, this is a case where the public sentiment may not be reflective of the sentiment of the General Assembly. Only its most liberal members would truly want to be on record supporting the concept, while Democrats from more conservative areas like the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland would be squeamish at best to support their fellows along the I-95 corridor should a bill legalizing same-sex marriage come to the General Assembly floor. This is why we haven’t seen that push, particularly in an election year.

So Gansler, in effect, is taking the bullet for his fellow Democrats since his odds of being re-elected in a statewide ballot are significantly higher than those of individual Democrats in conservative-leaning districts. At the moment, there’s no Republican running against Gansler. He also knows that the impeachment demanded by Dwyer won’t stand a chance in the highly partisan General Assembly so the decision was made knowing that he won’t be held accountable for it.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.