Voting on Civil Rights

Some will argue that we [in New Jersey] need a referendum on the issue, as if the legal rights of a minority should be subject to approval by the majority. A historical note: When the Supreme Court struck down state bans on interracial marriage, 73 percent of American were opposed to mixed marriage, according to a Gallup poll.

[excerpted from the editorial "Gay marriage: The unstoppable march for gay rights", The Star-Ledger [NJ], 6 December 2009.]

Posted on December 6, 2009 at 21.52 by jns · Permalink
In: All, Common-Place Book, Current Events, Faaabulosity

One Response

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  1. Written by S.W. Anderson
    on Tuesday, 8 December 2009 at 04.24
    Permalink

    That's an excellent point. When it comes to basic human rights, it's too easy for
    majority rule to impose tyranny. Democracy is a system based on majority rule,
    not one guaranteed to pursue virtuous means to just ends in all cases. As made so
    clear in 2004, the majority can get important matters obscenely wrong.

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