Focus On: Thou Shalt Not

As pleased as I am that equality triumphed in this whole "defining marriage by exclusion" thing, I'm a little miffed that every news source, from NPR to Boston Now, is saying that the ban on gay marriage has been defeated. That's not what happened: the attempt to place the issue on the ballot was defeated. Though this does de facto "defeat" the attempts of some lawmakers to (use the voters to help) preserve inequality in the letter of the law, the vote wasn't on the ban--it was on the ballot question--and I think that's an important difference. It's important because opponents of equality have a very strong argument that their representatives are not acting as their elected agents--that the voters should be given the chance to have their opinions heard through a vote. This is a principle with which I agree, and if this weren't a civil rights issue, I'd want the question on the ballot. Because it's a civil rights issue, though, we need our representatives to be forward-thinking "activists" who press the state--and the country--ahead, despite the retrograde beliefs of some citizens. History bears this out.

Anyway, I just feel like it's a distinction to be made: what got defeated today was the attempt to put the question on the ballot, not the question itself. It will come back in future sessions and lawmakers will have to correct their constituents again.