Somerville Legislators Sued for Violating Constitutional Duty

[dominic-santos.livejournal.com]

Representatives Denise Provost, Carl Sciortino, and Tim Toomey, and Senators Jarrett Barrios and Pat Jehlen were sued today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts "for violating the constitutional rights of Massachusetts citizens by intentionally refusing to vote on a citizen initiative amendment on the definition of marriage," according to a press release issued by Vote on Marriage, the initiative petition campaign seeking to define marriage in Massachusetts as the union between a man and a woman.
 

The Vote on Marriage press release is available here.

A PDF of the Complaint is available here.

Selected initiative petitions that would have never been voted on if past State Legislatures disregarded their Constitutional duty like our fine legislators from Somerville:

1938 - Initiative to provide free public taxicab stands in cities and towns.
1950 - Initiative to establish the Massachusetts State Lottery.
1976 - Initiative to prohibit to possession, ownership, or sale of any weapon from which a shot or bullet can be discharged and which has a barrel length of less than 16 inches.
1976 - Initiative to require every beverage container to have a refund value of $.05 and to ban containers with flip-tops.
1980 - Initiative to limit local property taxes (a.k.a. Proposition 2 1/2).

Comments

I deserve more equality than you do!

[turil.livejournal.com]

"Would monsters be more appropriate? Or selfish, small minded assholes?"

Only if you want to live in a world where people who have different backgrounds, different educational histories, and different cultures than you are, by default, considered monsters, selfish, or assholes...

I agree that fighting against marriage rights for all genders is a bad thing, but if you really want to help people move past that prejudice and fear of same sex marriage, then you have to at least take the time to understand why they are so afraid of same sex marriage and have become so passionate about fighting it, and find a way to see these people as human beings, just like you, who simply want to live in a world without fear. In other words, if you want equality, you have to treat people equally.

When someone you like does something that harms you, you are very likely to forgive them pretty quickly, understand that they aren't perfect and make mistakes, and do your best to help them learn more successful ways to live well in the future. You do this because you know that treating them like crap is not likely to help them grow and learn how to be a better person. So, if you think equality is a core element in your ideal world, then you have to treat even people you don't like the same (effective) way that you treat your friends when they screw up. If you don't think it's a good idea to call your friends small minded assholes or monsters... If you think that that tactic wouldn't help them be better people, then why on earth do you think it will work with anyone else?

Ultimately, what is the purpose of calling someone a monster? What good does it do other than inflate your own ego?