LINK to the story about the picture
Governor Lou Leon Guerrero has filed with the Supreme Court of Guam a Request for Declaratory Judgment relative to the status of "Belle's Law," which in 1990 "broadly criminalized abortion."
Tall Tales talk show host, Bob Klitzkie discussed the governor's action a bit on his show this past Friday and raised some important issues with the filing. However, due to its length (46 pages), Bob advised that he would study the filing over the weekend and get back to us on Monday with an in depth analysis, so we will wait for that.
Meanwhile, as Atty. General Doug Moylan points out, the governor appears to be "maneuvering:"
Whatever opinion the Supreme Court of Guam issues will not be binding. However, it is possible that the legal analysis could be used by the District Court once it picks up the issue, which would explain the maneuvering by Adelup, he said.
On its face, the governor's filing appears to be a typical liberal progressive end run around the legislature (and the voters) to get the courts to legislate from the bench. Instead of "maneuvering," the governor should just get her pals in the legislature to do their job and introduce a bill to repeal Belle's Law.
It's not only simple, it is exactly what is supposed to happen and why we elect these people in the first place. In fact, the governor doesn't even have to ask the legislature to do anything, she can introduce a bill herself and even call the legislature into a special session to vote on it.
So why isn't she doing that?
It's not hard to understand. The governor, like most liberal progressives, knows that she can't compete in the free arena of ideas, so she's running to the courts for cover. This is the same thing cowardly legislators do when they don't want to engage controversial legislation out in the open. They run to the Attorney General for an "opinion" they can hide behind.
It's not only cowardly, this sort of thing compromises our rights as citizens to the designed protections of three CO-EQUAL branches of government, and we should take note to vote these cowards out next time around.
Neither the Supreme Court of Guam nor the District Court can "alter or annul a statute"- which is what the governor is after here. So what is she really up to? What is she "maneuvering" to do as Doug Moylan describes it?
Again, it's not hard to understand. The governor knows that her pals in the legislature are too cowardly to move forward on a bill to get rid of Belle's Law. Said cowardice was exemplified recently by Sen. Parkinson who, after previously grandstanding about the matter, slunk behind the skirts of the ACLU when he actually had the opportunity to do something about it.
So the governor is simply "maneuvering" to give her pals cover when it comes to actually introducing legislation to not only repeal Belle's Law, but probably after that, push forward legislation that will draconically enshrine legal abortion in Guam law - and if the governor has her way, legalize infanticide as well - given her previous public testimony opposing a bill that would require normal medical care for children who survive failed abortions.
The correct way to deal with Belle's Law, of course, is for the legislative process to play out and then whatever the outcome, let it be challenged in the courts. In other words, legislature first, courts last. And not the other way around.
This is exactly how then-Governor Calvo handled the bill that became P.L. 33-187. And how he handled it is a lesson for all lawmakers, especially the current governor. Upon signing what was probably the most controversial piece of legislation ever engaged in the history of Guam's legislature, Governor Calvo stated:
"I recognize Bill 326 has several legal and technical concerns. A major concern is over the bill's retroactive application of the civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases. Whether such retrospect will pass constitutional muster is unclear...Despite these questions, today I will err on the side of the aggrieved. If am wrong, then the courts will tell me so. Or perhaps the Legislature will craft new legislation in order to clarify these issues."
