RE: I don't agree with everything this man does.
December 7, 2012 at 8:52 pm
(This post was last modified: December 7, 2012 at 8:52 pm by Jackalope.)
(December 7, 2012 at 8:13 pm)Rhythm Wrote: POTUS can't write bills. It's beyond the authority of the office. Making policy changes, in the way our system works, for the president specifically, is all about voicing one's opinion (as that's all he has going for him). Giant talking head. If he wanted to write and sponsor a bill in support of gay marriage (or any bill) he would have had to run for a different office.
Now I'm not actually familiar with how your system works- is your PM capable of doing more than voicing his opinion?
True, excepting the power he wields in the form of executive orders (which I do not think have the authority to affect this particular issue).
Marriage per se is not even so much a federal issue, except regarding the discrimination in it's application by the states, and via Art IV Sec 1 (full faith and credit clause) which directs the states that they must respect the official acts of other states (making things such as driver's licenses and marriages "portable" across state lines).
While to me it is a no-brainer how both federal issues ought to be interpreted, clearly there is disagreement on the issue.
With respect to the Art IV Sec 1 issue, there is existing precedent - not all states have uniform laws regarding marriage of minors. Yet, a marriage performed in one state is valid in all 50 states, even those where the two could not at the time be lawfully married (in a particular state). I can think of no sound legal reason why the same principle should not apply here.
In any case, the power of the POTUS (and the entire executive branch) to affect this issue is strictly limited to the bully pulpit.
