Gov. Brewer and “full faith and credit”

Father Orthoduck would like to applaud Gov. Brewer of Arizona for vetoing the bill out of Arizona which would have required every Presidential candidate to personally file multiple proofs of natural-born citizenship with the State of Arizona. In vetoing this “birther” bill, she commented that this was a “bridge too far.” And it was, but Father Orthoduck would like to argue that it was not for the reasons that most people would think. Rather, there is a Constitutional problem that could rubber band into a much bigger problem in more areas than just “birther” areas.

Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States says:

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

This article was absolutely necessary to prevent chaos between the States and to allow us to function as a country. What does Father Orthoduck mean? Think about all the things that your State licenses, oversees, or controls, and think what would happen if other States would not recognize the actions of your State. Let’s make a very short list, out of the very many possibilities, and you will see the problem.

Do you have a driver’s license? If you drive to another State, what would happen if that State did not accept your driver’s license, in other words, refused to give, “full faith and credit”? So, you graduated from the State university. But, when you apply for a job in another State, that company says that it cannot accept your degree because that State refuses to give, “full faith and credit” to your State’s university. What would that do to your job prospects? So, you had a baby! But, when you take your child to another State, you are detained for possibly stealing a child because that State refuses to give “full faith and credit” to you State’s birth certificate. It is that last one that is the current problem.

You see, much of the legal paperwork for what we take for granted in our lives are actually State functions, not Federal functions. Imagine if that clause in the Constitution were not there. More than that, notice that the clause specifically and directly says that only the Congress has the right to “prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.” The Arizona bill came all too close to denying that clause and to violating the “powers” enshrined in the Constitution. It has certainly been argued that since the election is in Arizona, that Arizona has the right to insist on levels of proof. But, Gov. Brewer was correct. That approach has the tendency to be a “bridge too far”  and to fragment the web of legal relationships that exist between the 50 States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the associated Federal territories and overseas bases and missions.

The “birther” bill that Arizona passed added nothing helpful to our election process. Instead, it could quickly have become a legal nightmare and a playground for lawyers and people who wished to engage in political shenanigans, as Gov. Brewer herself pointed out. Fortunately, Gov. Brewer refused the temptation to go down that road by vetoing the bill. Thank you, Gov. Brewer.