Direct Democracy

Massachusetts legislators may look less and less likely to follow through on approving a referendum on a gay marriage ban, but that hasn't stopped the Bay State bigot brigade. Today's NYTimes covers Gov. Mitt Romney throwing his support behind a parallel voter initiative that requires fewer votes to get out of the legislature. Also, unlike the first proposal, this latter amendment does not include a civil unions provision. Rather, it would grant to gays the much lesser (and non-exclusive) status of "reciprocal beneficiaries."

A similar tactic is being used in Oregon, where social conservatives are offering RPs as the alternative to a civil union bill recently proposed by two Republican(!) legislators. Those silly liberal states and their "moderate" approach to killing off gay marriage! I only wish we had choices like that down here in Virginia.