“Schimel issued a statement saying once again that as attorney general he would defend any law passed by the legislature,” Tate said. “If the leglslature passed a law banning birth control, or banning gun ownership, Schimel says he would defend the law, because “It is not the attorney general’s job to select which laws to enforce based on politics or personal ideology.”
“Wisconsin doesn’t need a robot in the Attorney General’s office,” Tate said. “We need an Attorney General who understands that the job doesn’t call for blindly following the wishes of the legislature and the governor. The Attorney General is sworn to enforce the law, but also to uphold the Constitution. If the law contradicts the constitution, then the Attorney General has a duty not to enforce or defend it.”
Schimel said he would have defended the ban on inter-racial marriage in an interview with an Oshkosh cable channel.
Here is Schimel’s response in its entirety:
“Love and the law are colorblind, and that is how it should be. Many shameful, racist laws were changed over the course of time in this country by legislators, the courts and the people’s direct votes. But if Susan Happ wants to make up new laws, or change old ones, she’s running for the wrong job. I cannot imagine living in a state that banned interracial marriage, nor running for an office that would enforce such a law. I am running for attorney general of Wisconsin and vow to enforce and defend all of our laws. It is not the attorney general’s job to select which laws to enforce based on politics or personal ideology.”
Wisconsin never had a law banning inter-racial marriage, Tate said, but Schimel apparently was unaware of that.
