Friday, February 22, 2013

Constitutional Amendments Too Stringent: Setting the Record Straight By State Rep. Mary Helen Garcia, District 34

Over the last several days people have been talking back and forth about my votes on minimum wage and same sex marriage. While I believe I was elected to use my own judgment, I would like the record to reflect my thoughts.

The media has taken what I have said out of context, I apologize if anyone believes that I set out to intentionally hurt anyone. I stand on my record, which will clearly show that I have spent my entire career putting people first.

Regardless of how I personally feel about either issue, as the Chairwoman of Voters and Elections I believe that minimum wage and same sex marriage do not belong on the ballot. By this I mean that both issues were brought before my committee as constitutional amendments, which means that both issues would have to be put on the ballot in the next election cycle.

As everyone knows the Legislative process requires the approval of both houses and the executive branch. This process serves a purpose and provides the best opportunity for citizen involvement and fair representation. While it might be an idealistic view, I believe that the Legislative process should be respected except in a case of dire emergency.

Again I believe that the issues of minimum wage and same sex marriage are issues that should be debated, compromised, and scrutinized by the legislature, not manipulated for political gain. I do not believe that either issue met the requirements to disregard the principles of the legislative process.

While I believe constitutional amendments serve a purpose, we must realize that the constitutional amendment process is much more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation.

No comments:

Post a Comment