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On May 30th, Ayotte signed a letter drafted by Utah attorney general Mark Shurtleff urging the Court to delay their ruling until after Proposition 8 was decided in November. The legal reasoning was a bland appeal to avoiding litigation on federalism grounds, but the company Ayotte was keeping speaks for itself.
I have no doubt that the attorneys general of such enlightened enclaves as South Carolina, Utah, Idaho, Alaska, and South Dakota were representing their constituents with their stalling tactics. Kelly Ayotte, however, represents a state where the voters - through their elected representatives, including Governor Lynch - made clear that this is state where the Gay and Lesbian community is a valued and important part of our cultural and political life and where their committed relationships are recognized and celebrated. It is sad that our attorney general would attempted to deny - even temporarily - the rights of others in our name.
Kelly Ayotte decided it was more important to take the opportunity to again present herself on the national stage as a champion of the values the radical right holds dear. First with abortion in the Ayotte v. PPNNH case and in May of 2008 with same-sex marriage, Ayotte staked out a place well to right of New Hampshire's (and the nation's) position on hot-button far right issues. I can't see how John Lynch can, in good conscious, reappoint someone whose views so clearly conflict with those of New Hampshire's citizens.
The Concord Monitor said it best when their editorial board pointed out that "(i)n this case, it appears that scoring political points came first" for Ms. Ayotte. Governor Lynch should do the right thing in the face of political pressure - as he did when dumping John Stephen and Dick Flynn - and replace Ms. Ayotte.
Finally, to add a bit of burlesque to the story, Ms. Ayotte un-signed the letter several days later, apparently after reviewing New Hampshire's domestic partner statute and discovering that the problem pointed out by her fellow right-wing AGs was already addressed in that legislation. Needless to say, her un-signing attracted much less notice in radical right circles than her initial signing...
References:
Concord Monitor Editorial - http://www.concordmonitor.com/...
Text of the AGs letter - http://legalpad.typepad.com/my...
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