Attorney General Eric Holder says that state attorneys general who believe that laws in their states banning same-sex marriage are discriminatory are not obligated to defend them.
That’s his opinion, but a Houston professor of constitutional law wholeheartedly disagrees, saying ”He certainly doesn’t have standing to tell state attorneys general and governors what they should and shouldn’t enforce. It’s the principle of federalism.”
South Texas College of Law professor Gerald Treece explains that’s a clearly established principle of American law, ”Literally, you can not have the federal government telling the states what they can and can’t do, unless what the states are doing is in clear violation of federal law.”
And Treece says that understanding would have to be made clear by the U-S Supreme Court, or at least, an act of Congress. Treece says he’s opposed to discrimination of any kind, but the US Attorney General must follow the law.
Houston Law Professor: AG Holder’s Advice to State Officials Off Base was originally published on news92fm.com
