Forum Post: "Direct Democracy" vs LGBTA rights. Lessons from Prop 8?
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 3, 2011, 9:20 p.m. EST by honeyandthebee
(2)
from Hingham, MA
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I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this for me. I'm not being a subversive or anything with this. I am a transgender individual from MA where we thankfully have much more rights then other parts of the country.
Most of us remember the fight over Prop 8 in California where a referendum of the people with an almost 80% turnout stripped the right to choose who they want to marry regardless of gender from Californians 52.2% to 47.8%.
It has been shown time and time again through history (slavery, women's rights, black rights, LGBTA rights) that if the majority has their way they will oppress the minority. How can you support General Assemblies and Consensus rule while at the same time trying to push for minority rights. It seems like we are forgetting the lessons learned with Prop 8.
I'm hoping there is something i'm missing. <3
You are 100% correct direct democracy is the tyranny of the majority. There is no problem with our Constitutional republic other than government not following the rules. There should have been absolutely no reason to ever have had prop 8 on a ballot as people's rights are not up to a majority vote, they are inalienable. It does not matter who you are or who you want to associate with you have the right to free association and marriage falls under that. The prop 8 crap was an unlawful sham and any state that does not allow free association is violating the rights of their people.
I agree. In essence the issue is that Democracy cannot be a tyrrany of the majority by making all actions simply up to the mob. That is why we have a constitutional democracy that, as Misguided notes guarantees basic fundamental rights as a basis of the system rather than making them up to all. That is why the fight for civil rights has been couched as guaranteeing equal rights and has been heavily fought in the judiciary rather than a simple game of numbers.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
You didn't miss anything. Oh, well you also left out the part of the amount of money that was used for propaganda purposes by the Mormons.
Trying to rally people to your side is always going to happen. Propaganda doesn't magically go away because everyone is allowed to vote. It actually becomes more pervasive due to the need to target larger audiences.
Yes. I agree. It is a winner takes all game. This is the point that I was trying to make in a prior debate.
That's why education is so important and I don't mean state funded education which has become part of the propaganda machine for the state but self education. There is no reason for anyone to be uneducated these days the way information flows so quickly and freely.
We have a republic because direct democracy is mob rule. Most people with an education understand that. It tells you a lot about the folks on this forum.
we have a republic because direct communication did not exist in the past
It exists now, and Prop 8 happened.
Women are 51% of the population- that's not a minority.