From the Pacific Daily News story:
Although the 1990 law calls for a voter referendum, Parkinson said he does not want the matter to go to a public vote.
“I don’t agree with the idea of a referendum as a lawmaker, because we were elected by the people of Guam to make the hard decisions,” Parkinson said.
“(If) every time we have a difficult decision like abortion, we stick it to the people, then what are we here for? … Let’s make a decision and not pass the buck.”
Parkinson is absolutely right. Enough of the cowards in the legislature. What do they get paid for if not "to make hard decisions?"
He WAS also right about his intent to introduce a bill to repeal "Guam's decades old abortion ban," Public Law 20-134. Deciding what to do about an abortion law is precisely the job of the legislature.
However, in this writer's opinion, Parkinson wimped out after apparently getting spanked by the ACLU:
"...after having consultation with the ACLU, I decided to hold off on this decision in order to allow the situation to play out in the courts...”
So after "holding court" about the duty of the legislature not to "pass the buck" to the people, Parkinson passes the buck to the courts.
Allowing "the situation to play out in the courts" is probably going to be an extremely long, drawn out, and costly affair - which it already is, all paid for of course by the people who Parkinson says should not be saddled with "the buck."
It could be of course, as radio talk show show host Bob Klitzkie points out, that Parkinson is just playing his cards in return for "earned media." But Parkinson's ducking behind the ACLU should still cost Parkinson something and not us.
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