Pro-family people across Massachusetts are fed up with the radical laws being passed in their state and are now striking back.

Recently, MassResistance visited the State House, going from office to office, calling out “blue state” legislators (both Democrat and Republican, as well as their aides) about an unconstitutional practice in which they are all engaged.

The legislators are catering to extreme left-wing special interests. Over the past few months, they passed a radical LGBT law that redefines the family, passed an outrageous anti-gun bill, and allocated billions of dollars to house, feed, and educate thousands of illegal immigrants (including giving them free tuition at community colleges). None of this was done because average citizens asked for it.

This full-time legislature is now taking a five-month paid vacation until January! They’re supposed to be in the State House working on the numerous necessary bills that pile up all year. But instead, they’re campaigning for reelection or taking care of personal business while still getting weekly paychecks.

Illegal ‘Informal Sessions’ Now the Norm

Bills are still being passed, of course. But it’s being done through a phony scheme called “informal sessions.” About three times a week, two or three representatives or senators hold a session before an empty chamber and vote on dozens of bills (by voice vote, of course) while pretending they have a quorum. As long as no legislator shows up to object that there isn’t a quorum, this scam goes on day after day. No other legislature in America engages in such a sleazy practice.

Here’s the issue: The Massachusetts Constitution states that a majority of each branch is required for business to be conducted. An actual quorum is legally mandated, not an imaginary quorum.

MassResistance has been organizing statewide to pressure a few “honest” legislators to go to every “informal session” and call the quorum — and thus force the rest of the legislators to go to the State House and do their jobs. It will upend their comfortable way of doing business — and is meant to dampen their fervor to spend their time working for special interests instead of the citizens.

Office Door to Office Door through the State House

By mid-August, MassResistance had already reached out to many of the legislators via emails and phone calls. Then it was time for personal visits.

July 31 was the last day of “full formal sessions” before the legislators left for their five-month vacation. They were all in the building. So MassResistance activists went to the offices of all 200 legislators.

We had two teams of MassResistance activists there that day. They got to every legislator’s office.

We handed each of them a crisp one-page letter explaining the outrage of what they were doing and why it needs to stop immediately.

Our letter waits in the mailbox of one of the state senators.

If no one was in the office at the time, we left the letters in their mailboxes. But our activists had a chance to personally interact with a surprising number of legislators and/or their staffers. Many of them were visibly surprised to be approached by people who weren’t from LGBT or other far-left special interest groups.

Virtually every legislator and staffer MassResistance spoke with refused to address the issue we presented: the constitution’s requirement for a quorum to conduct business.

Many of them simply said they saw no problem with using informal sessions because it got important work done. Some outright lied to us about the “legality” of that process. We were told to study the House Rule Book and understand how public hearings work. We were told that “insignificant” bills don’t need a quorum.

Others refused to engage on the subject at all, or even pretended they couldn’t see us standing there tryng to talk to them.

Overall, the staffers acted as if they didn’t meet with the public often. Maybe they should get out of the State House more!

A Few Examples

The things officials and their staffers said are embarrassing.

• Rep. Susannah Whipps (U) saw no problem with the obviously corrupt process, telling us, “If there’s a controversial bill that really is going to cause anybody heartburn, one representative can doubt the presence of a quorum and it stops until there’s a quorum there. So I see this as a way to get more done.” Regarding our letter, she said, “You should not be peddling such hateful information.”

• Rep. Natalie Higgins (D) lectured us: “There is always a Republican and a Democrat in each informal session. I’ve been here for eight years.”

• Rep. Jeffrey Roy (D) told us, “We move through informal sessions because it’s quicker. We love it.” 
• An aide to Senator Michael Moore (D) explained that each branch sets its own rules.
• An aide to Sen. Ryan Fattman (R) told us the Senate does not hold informal sessions. He said, “All Senate sessions are formal, and need a quorum.” Really? In fact, Sen. Fattman himself participates in many Senate informal sessions!
• Rep. Joseph McGonagal (D) simply asked us, “You’re saying this is unconstitutional?” and refused to discuss it further.
• An aide to Rep. Daniel Donahue (D) (see photo above) tried to “educate” us on how bills are passed in the Legislature. But when we asked about a quorum requirement, he changed the subject and talked about the particular bills his boss is working to get passed.

Sen. Peter Durant stationed an aide at the door to keep visitors from asking him questions.

This staffer for Sen. Patrick O’Connor wouldn’t acknowledge our presence when we started asking questions.

Sen. John Keenan (in white shirt) was busy chatting with staffers, so we weren’t allowed near him.

This man might be a legislator or staffer. We couldn’t tell. He pretended he couldn’t see or hear us. Only in the Massachusetts State House would people treat visitors this way! 

It’s hard not to think that our elected officials and their staffers are either stupid or hopelessly corrupt; most likely it’s a mixture of both.

Visiting the Press Room

One of our activists went to the State House press room where the newspaper reporters were working. She handed them copies of the letter, explained what it’s about, and suggested that they report on it. They all said they were busy and didn’t have time.

The truth is that since the Massachusetts news media have all been going along with the scam for years — reporting the results of the informal sessions as if they were normal and legitimate — it’s unlikely they’ll want to cover this!

Only the conservative Boston Broadside newspaper and the Ed Lambert radio show on Cape Cod have been willing to report on this.

The argument we’re making is very straightforward. Going through an exercise like this was a bizarre and upsetting experience. It’s a chilling testament to the lack of intelligence and integrity behind the whole legislative process in Massachusetts — and likely other “blue” states.

That’s why everyone must keep the pressure on to force an end to this unconstitutional practice in this particular legislature — and upend its entire way of doing things. The legislators and their staffs must be forced to pay attention to their constituents instead of the special interests.

Copyright 2024 MassResistance. Republished with permission.