Legislative session
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Dear Editor:
As of this writing (Jan. 20) early bird legislators have pre-filed nearly 150 bills, memorials and resolutions. Since legislation is usually acted on in the order it is filed, there is a better chance that the legislation will clear all hurdles for passage before the end of the session, which is especially difficult in the “short” session! No local legislators prefiled bills, although there has undoubtedly been some work done behind the scenes.
On KKIM Radio Jan. 19 Nora Espinoza stated that she is going to introduce a “marriage defined” bill again (Senator Sharer has introduced similar legislation on the Senate side.) She said “this is about absolute truth of right and wrong,” which makes me think of Matthew 7:3 and Luke 14:7-11.
Gov. Bill Richardson, in his State of the State speech to the Legislature, urged lawmakers to approve domestic partnerships. “We cannot accept discrimination in any form,” Richardson said. “A committed couple who agrees to spend their lives together deserves equal protection under the law.”
The lawsuit filed in California against the “marriage defined” legislation that passed there last year takes the same stand. One of the lead attorneys in that case is conservative Ted Olson, who has argued 55 cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and won 44 of them. In 2000 he argued for Bush in the case that gave Bush the election.
I think that our legislators should wait and see how the California case goes before putting in more time and effort on either side of this issue. Focus on our budgetary problems! Google “Theodore Olson’s Road” for several articles about the California case.
In light of the article in Wednesday’s paper about Deputy Daniel Nitschke, readers might want to urge their local legislators, the senators in particular, to support HB 17, NO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OFFENDERS AS POLICE. HB 17 is sponsored by HD 53 Rep. Nate Cote. It passed the House last year 63 to zero (obviously with the support of your local representatives). It was given a Do Pass by two Senate committees but was not voted on by the full Senate. It was No. 33 last year, here’s hoping that No. 17 will make it through this year.
If you are interested in looking at all the bills that have been introduced this session, go to:
http://nmlegis.gov/lcs/_locatorcom.aspx?year=10. If you are interested in finding out whether a specific legislator has introduced any legislation, go to the “Find your legislator” page:
http://nmlegis.gov/lcs/legislatorsearch.aspx.
By using these two pages and the other information on the New Mexico Legislature Web site, you can get started on your way to becoming an effective advocate for legislation that you feel is important.
Ellen Wedum
Cloudcroft