Expectations of personal liberty

If the Maine Fundies, who just outlawed gay marriage, want to avoid being branded as hypocrites (bad enough they're bigots) they had better act pronto to ban the lobster industry in their state no matter the economic consequences. ;-) Check out Leviticus 11:12.

Fresh from success in Maine, Fundies are casting an eye towards overturning gay marriage in New Hampshire. Fortunately, the two routes available make it tough. One way is a repeal law approved by a simple majority in both houses of the legislature and signed by the governor. It was only last June that the governor signed to approve gay marriage. The other way is a constitution amendment both houses pass the bill by two-thirds and sent to the people for a two-thirds approval.

That makes me wonder… The Michigan constitution is up for a rewrite in 2012 (the chance is offered every 16 years, though we haven't bothered since the 1960s). Should we try to toughen how the constitution is amended before or after we repeal the gay marriage ban?


The domestic partnership win in Washington state hasn't been certified yet, but it looks almost impossible to fail. That win is important for a couple reasons. It is the first time a DP law (better yet, one equivalent to marriage) has been approved by the general population. It was also done in an off-year usually dominated by older voters.

The second reason of importance will take a bit to explain. Back in 1997 voters were asked to approve a gay-friendly civil rights bill. Not one county had approval over 50%. And that for a bill quite narrow in scope. This time 9 counties (of 38) approved a much broader bill, some did it by wide margins -- one county over 70%. The important aspect is that all counties but one had a higher percentage voting in favor of gays than in 1997.


Prohibition failed (and was sensibly repealed) partly because it became impossible to enforce noted Jacob Weisberg of Newsweek. It became a symbol of the futility of legislating morality. People try anyway. But now the equation is reversed -- the effort these days is to undo laws that haven't kept up with society. At the top of the list: gay rights (and gay marriage), use of marijuana, and permission to travel to Cuba. The biggest reason is popular demand accelerated by the Internet. That raises expectations of personal liberty.

Naturally, politicians continue to lag, not lead. As the GOP remains the party of prohibition it will alienate more people. But Dems may be too eager to embrace change. Cultural change is treacherous. Why get in front of change when you can follow and get to the same place?