LEGISLATIVE ACTIVISM.

I've talked before about the shell game set up by opponents (or even, in some cases, by nominal supporters) of same-sex marriage, in which somehow none of the pre-existing institutional mechanisms is good enough for enshrining marriage equality if another one is available. We now have another example from Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri, as he attacks those activist legislators in Vermont:

As Rhode Island prepares to become one of the next battlegrounds in the gay marriage debate, Governor Donald Carcieri has announced he and his wife, Sue, have joined the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a group that opposes gay marriage.

The governor made his announcement this morning at the State House, reports WPRI, a Providence broadcaster.

Carcieri called himself a “traditionalist,” saying a child is better off in a home with a mother and father, and called for a vote on the issue.

“In Massachusetts it was the court. In Vermont it was the legislature. I believe the issue ought to be dealt with by all of our citizens. ... And let them decide,” Carcieri said.

I have to say I'm having trouble conceiving an attractive theory of democracy in which referenda are the only legitimate means of protecting minority rights. But hopefully comments like this will help disabuse people of the myth that opposition to gay and lesbian rights will somehow fade away if they just eschew litigation.

--Scott Lemieux