Do New Jersey lawmakers not know how representative republics work?
In a recent Politico story about New Jersey’s continued attempts to legalize recreational marijuana, Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi was quoted as saying: “I am not yet sold on the efficacy of actual legalization, but if a majority of the state with the appropriate knowledge of what it means is supportive, I’m willing to put aside my own apprehensions for what the majority wants”
Even though she is personally against legalization, Schepisi is sponsoring a bill in the New Jersey Legislature to put legalization to a referendum, allowing all New Jersey voters to weigh in on the topic. Her collegue in the New Jersey State Senate, Ronald Rice, is sponsoring a similar measure in that chamber. Senator Rice said to Politico “I would never vote to legalize recreational marijuana, but I think if there are going to be conversations, the public should weigh in”.
It seem that neither New Jersey lawmaker understands the job of legislators is to legislate. That is what they were elected to do. This measure to put the idea to a referendum seems to me to be a way to not make the hard choices or to have lawmakers cast a straight up or down vote on a politically charged subject.
The Assemblywoman and the Senator don’t seem to understand that “we the people” had our say when we cast our vote for our representatives. We sent them to Trenton to go off and speak for us.
If weak-kneed politicians need to see which way the wind is blowing on an issue before they cast their vote, they can always look at opinion polls; those are plentiful. There is a recent Monmouth University poll that shows that 62% of New Jersey voters support recreational pot legalization. If the Senator and Assemblywoman want to know that the majority thinks, there’s the answer.
Also, the act of giving in to the will of the majority is antithetical to republican governance. The whole reason we have a republican form of government is to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority. So, if the Assemblywoman and the Senator are so opposed to legalization of marijuana on principle then they should do their jobs and vote their consciences and oppose any legalization measure put before their chambers.
But intestinal fortitude in elected officials is severely lacking these days, so it is easier to punt and just throw up your hands and say the people have spoken; but that isn’t doing what they were sent to Trenton to do.
New Jersey, unlike other states, does not put legislative measures up for referenda. Those are only reserved for bond issues and constitutional amendments. In New Jersey we still expect the legislative process to function as it was designed. The elected representatives of the people should meet in their sessions, debate the issues and pass laws by which the state is governed.
This problem of the branches of government ceding their authority to others is rampant at the federal level and at the state level. We need to get our governing bodies back on track and doing the jobs that they were designed to do.
Legislatures pass laws, executives enforce those laws and judiciaries evaluate and interpret the laws. We do not govern by polls. We elect our representatives to govern for us. Someone should remind the people in Trenton what their job is.
