MaineFAIL, or, why a majority should never vote on minority rights

I'm sure you've all read the terrible news - Maine voted to repeal the state's new law allowing same sex couples to get married. And by "Maine" I mean the bigoted, backwoods 50+% of that northern state who probably thought that Sarah Palin was too liberal. What the hell, America? Haven't we learned anything from Prop 8? You never let a majority vote on minority rights. And why? Because the majority is the majority precisely because they oppress the minority! HELLO!

Let's take a trip in the Wayback Machine to the 1960's. There was a little happening called the Civil Rights Movement, and a very important little bill called The Civil Rights Bill of 1964. This was not voted on by states, or by the people, and if it had been, there would still be separate drinking fountains in places like Mississippi. If you don't believe me, take a good hard look around at the unabashed racism flying around since Obama was elected (which, if not for that Civil Rights Bill, would never ever have happened). Before gay people were Made By The Devil, black people were Made By The Devil. They couldn't marry who they wanted for a long time, since interracial marriages were illegal. Hell, one justice down south apparently didn't get the memo about that, and that was this year! Mercifully, he was forced to resign.

The U.S. Supreme Court tossed out any racially-based limitations on marriage in 1967. In a unanimous decision, the court said that under the Constitution, "the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State." This needs to extend to same sex marriages.

This state by state strategy will not change the hearts and minds of the people. In fact, nothing will change the hearts and minds of the people. Why? Because America is about 25% bigot and 30% stupid and ignorant (or some combination of the two) and trying to convince them that homosexuals aren't El Diablo incarnate is completely pointless. What needs to happen is for the gays to convince the federal government that their constitutional rights are being violated. No one is telling religious people that they can't get married and no one is telling them that they can't think gays are toothy demons with little wings flying into their batshit insane brains and making them do Evil. But not allowing same sex couples - two consenting adults, which is the key legal definition here - to have equal rights under the law is in direct violation of the Constitution. Anyone who tries to say otherwise should be immediately shot down, and hard, by cold hard facts. Tolerating bigotry in this country in the name of "reaching across the aisle" must come to an end. We need to put the pressure on Obama and our representatives. Write letters, make phone calls. Organize another march. Bring your beautiful children to Washington like these gentlemen did:



What do we want? Equal rights! When do we want them? NOW!

Anything less flies in the face of the very principles this country was founded on.

I shall step down from my soapbox.