With the National Equality March and Same-Sex Marriage Vote in DC on the horizon, it is hard not to find oneself pondering one of our Nation’s greatest ills: the existence of second class citizens. While several minorities in this country still have a ways to go before achieving de facto equality, the gays and lesbians are in a unique situation. Their country refuses to recognize them as human beings. Unfortunately, a large majority of our country finds delight in this legally sanctioned discrimination, offering inane arguments to justify their hate.

To examine the claims that homosexuals undermine familial and moral values would first involve recognizing that they are grounded in some iota of truth; thus, they are not even worthy of consideration. What has caught my attention, however, is the new cry among anti-gay groups, such as Stand4MariageDC, to “let the people vote.” This idea of holding a referendum may have some sway with moderates as our country holds the ideal of majority rule and believes in the sacred nature of the vote. Yet we must not forget the other fundamental principle grounded in our Constitution - that of the protection of the minority.

“If men were angels,” writes James Madison, father of the Constitution, “no government would be necessary.” In his Federalist Papers, he reasons that our Government’s virtue exists not only in its sensitivity to the needs of the people, but also to its protection from the tyranny of the majority. This is why we have an indirect democracy of checks and balances. Our senators and congressmen are supposed to be smart enough to recognize when a minority group’s rights are being infringed upon - even if the people cannot.

Imagine if we put up a referendum for public school integration in the 1950s. Most likely, the largely racist public would have shot down that legislation, and we would still be segregated today - provided the Supreme Court didn’t step in. This also holds true for events concerning abortion rights, the female vote, and interracial marriage.

With this in mind, it seems clear that a public vote is not always the prudent or right thing to do. When it comes to fundamental constitutional and human rights questions, the public has no authority to step in. Theoretically, our Supreme Court would uphold this principle in their commitment to Constitutional Law despite changes in public opinion. We have yet to hear from them.

While it seems to go against our natural democratic tendencies not to give the power to the people, I challenge you to take the bold step in discrediting the Conservative’s cries to let the people vote on gay rights issues. The people’s natural rights are not a toy to be at the whims of backwards politicians and an ignorant public. Some rights - such as those to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - are too sacred for the public to play games with.

Sources:

http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm - Federalist #10

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/us/07marriage.html - NY Times Article

Tags: Civil Rights, LGBT

This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 9:36 pm and is filed under Current Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.