Mass. Congressmen Violated Law in Sending Official Letter Against Marriage

By Curt Lovelace
December 12, 2002

The letter from all of the Mass. Congressmen and Senators to state legislators about the Protection of Marriage Amendment violated federal law, according to Thomas McGee, a 30-year employee of the federal government and resident of South Hadley.

First, the letter was written on official House of Representatives stationery, a clear violation of law, McGee says, because this letter was not official business of the Congress.

Even the letter itself proves this, McGee says, pointing out the first paragraph, which refers to the proposed Constitutional amendment as an issue "wholly within the jurisdiction of the General Court." The same paragraph also refers to the content of the letter as "our opinion."

Every member of the Congressional delegation has a right to express his opinion, but not in such a manner as to make it look official, says McGee. Fraudulent use of stationery of the Congress of the United States is a violation of Chapter 6 of the Ethics Manual for Members on franking privileges and House Rule 43, clause 11.

McGee also notes the date of the letter and claims that it is evidence of a "conspiracy to violate the civil rights of six million citizens of Massachusetts." He told MassNews that it appears, "There was concern that there weren't enough votes to defeat the amendment. So this letter was dated July 12 and delivered to every legislator in the State House on Monday the 15th." The Constitutional Convention was scheduled to take place on the 17th.

"It is a powerful thing," McGee asserts, "for state legislators to receive a letter from their federal counterparts, unanimously urging them to take a certain course of action." He notes also that the letter was timed so that "not even the Speaker of the [U.S.] House could take any action for 60 days," because of a 1996 law intended to block frivolous lawsuits during periods of time near primaries and general elections.

McGee believes that the citizens have been disenfranchised by the actions of the U.S. Congressional delegation. He would like to see the matter dealt with properly, although he makes no suggestion as to what the proper outcome would look like. In order to make his opinion in the matter known, he has telephoned each of his Senators and his Representative. Noting that all ten members of the state's Congressional delegation signed the letter, McGee believes, "It is impossible to bring a complaint through your own Member of Congress."

He has, therefore, written letters to Chairman Joel Hefley of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the U.S. House and to the Speaker of the House, Rep. Dennis Hastert. In these letters he has carefully documented the several rules of ethical conduct and laws he believes were violated.

In the letter to the Speaker of the House, McGee lays out the specific violations he believes have been committed. They include: "Civil Rights violations, ethics violations, violations of the rules of conduct for members of the House and Senate, misuse of franking privileges to send a letter NOT on official business of the U.S. Congress, civil and possible criminal violations of the Constitution of the State of Massachusetts, federal interference in the Constitutional Convention Process in Massachusetts, attempts to interfere with state officials from carrying out their duties."

McGee insists that he has no political agenda. He believes that his rights have been violated, along with those of his fellow citizens. He was reluctant to begin this process. His letter to Speaker Hastert opens with the sentence, "Having honorably served in the government of the United States for thirty years, it is with regret that I must call upon the Office of the Speaker to take action to restore ethics and dignity to the U.S. House of Representatives."

Many would insist that McGee is on a fool's errand. If you can't beat City Hall, you certainly don't have much of a chance against the entire Congressional delegation of your state. Thomas McGee, however, cherishes the democratic process and the relationships between the various states and the federal government. He believes that the citizens deserve a Congress which conducts its business in ethical and legal ways. He believes that dignity is a requirement for the carrying on of the people's business. He's willing to stick his neck out to restore that dignity.

McGee has received no written replies to any of his communications with various government officials.

During his years working in the State Department and the Department of the Treasury, McGee was the recipient of many Commendations and Awards. He's proud to be an American.

Read About It in Local Paper

On July 16, McGee read about the letter in a local daily newspaper. The two chambers of the legislature were scheduled to meet on July 17, in a Constitutional Convention. One of the three items on the agenda was the Marriage Amendment. Only 50 of the 200 legislators had to vote in favor for the amendment to take the next step toward being put before the people as a ballot question.

When McGee, who has no relationship with the sponsors of the amendment - and didn't even sign the petition to have it put on the ballot - read that Senate President Thomas Birmingham had adjourned the Constitutional Convention with no action, he was incensed. He felt that, among other things, the letter from the Congressional delegation had been used to "circumvent the Constitutional Convention of a state and the will of its six million citizens."

The first thing McGee wanted was a copy of the letter. He called the office of his Congressman, Richard Neal. Although his signature was on the letter, Neal's office did not have a copy and had to get a copy faxed from the office of Rep. Barney Frank which they then forwarded to Mr. McGee. He also called the offices of the two U.S. Senators, Edward Kennedy and John Kerry. McGee said of those calls that he "found it strange that neither Senate office had a copy of the letter, although both had signed it."

Reading the letter, which is only three paragraphs long, McGee decided that numerous violations of law and ethics had been committed and the victims were the citizens of Massachusetts.