Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Proposition 8

I know people who think that Proposition 8 was OK because, to them, it is permissible for a majority of people to deny or take away rights from others.

Let's explore that with a little hypothetical:

You are a resident of California and you own guns. Proposition 47 goes on the next ballot to amend the state constitution and it reads like this:
It shall be unlawful for any person residing in the State of California to purchase, sell, gift, devise or otherwise transfer a firearm to any other resident of the State. It shall be unlawful for any resident of the State to receive a firearm from any other person. Violation shall be a felony punishable by incarceration in a State penal institution for no less than five years. This provision shall not apply to peace officers nor to military personnel on active duty.
It passes with 50.1% of the vote and becomes the law.

Setting aside the Second Amendment argument for now, would that not be just what happened with Prop. 8? If you already had a gun, you could keep it. You just couldn't sell it or give it away. You may think that you had a right to buy a gun, but if a majority of the voters say so, that right is stripped away from you.

How would that sit with you?
on or about

1 comment:

  1. Mark5/28/2009 12:08 PM

    *shrugs* Whilst religion is still treated with undeserved respect, people will still consider their prejudices protected, their right to meddle in the affairs of others intact, and their bigotry a mandate from On High.

    There's no social, medical or moral reason to interfere with gay marriage. Every argument hinges, in the final analysis, on "My imaginary friend doesn't like it, so I'm allowed to stop you".

    Which, frankly, is insane in what one had hoped was a scientific age.

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