Mob rule

The repeal of Maine's marriage equality law was excruciatingly disappointing, but not altogether surprising. As Jesse Ventura put it bluntly, "You can't put a civil rights issue on the ballot and let the people decide ... If you left it up to the people, we'd have slavery, depending on how you worded it."

Indeed, history has proven that when individuals are given the power to legislate issues directly, the majority invariably terrorizes the minority. Time and time again, the mob has used referenda to repeal existing legislative protections such as Maine's same-sex marriage law and to ensure that elected representatives are unable to pass new civil rights laws by amending state constitutions to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. Full story...