No one will deny that this is a pivotal election. Not just for the direction of our country, but for our state as well. Turn past the page asking you to vote for president, and you’ll find a dozen propositions decorating the state ballot. They range from a measure to build a high-speed rail to mortgage assistance for veterans. But stuck in the middle is one that stands out of place like none other.
Proposition 8 would amend the state constitution to overrule the state court’s ruling that gays can enter into legal marriage. I see this issue far from just about federal tax benefits from marriage status. This is about how the majority in a society treats its minorities ““ with accommodation and respect or with utter intolerance to the level of perpetuating legal inequality. Proposition 8 would strip a minority its rights through a majority vote, which is a fundamental threat to democracy, regardless of issue or historical context.
Freedom means that as a minority in a society, you enjoy the exact same rights as everyone else. Protections from the “violence of majority factions,” outlined in the Federalist Papers, was so paramount to a democracy that the framers considered a nation without it similar to the tyranny of a despot. They vigorously pursued a governance that protects its minorities, and an independent judiciary was established ““ one that acts not in response to the political demands of the majority, but to the civil rights of the minority.
It’s saddening that such a significant amount of people are fundamentally not accepting of homosexuality, but in a free society, that’s perfectly fine. No one can ever make a free citizen change his mind on anything at all or approve of anyone else, for any reason. What is not acceptable in a democracy is for a majority to limit the legal rights of others they don’t approve of. That is fundamentally undemocratic, uncivilized and un-American.
I’m asking those who are considering a yes vote on Proposition 8 not necessarily to approve of same-sex marriage in your religion or even in your personal life, but to consider your role in a democratic society. Citizens don’t vote in the personal or religious sphere but in the legal and societal one. So I implore you to think about this proposition in terms of how it equates in our democracy, and what justice means for the rights of a minority.
In sum, a no vote on Proposition 8 isn’t just a vote to preserve same-sex marriage, and it’s not just a vote for equality. It’s a chance to actually vote for the ideals of individual liberty and freedom that guided the establishment of our nation. What could be more American?
Kobernick is a fourth-year political science student.