The Idaho legislators have passed a Constitutional Amendment to ban gay marriage, so now it will go to the voters. I suppose that conservative Idaho will pass this, though you never know.
Opponents of the amendment ought to shift the debate. Too many people will support the amendment if they just think it only affects homosexuals. I'd try to tie the inherent bigotry of the effort to the image of our state as bigots.
The counter argument would be, we don't want to pass the amendment because we already are perceived as racists and bigots. Passing it will just reinforce that view. Since we already have a law against gay marriage, the amendment is unnecessary anyway, so why tarnish our state's image and scare off tourists and their money. Always find a money angle.
2 comments:
Well, there's also the libertarian streak in the state. Who wants to write things into the Constitution that limit freedoms? Especially since we have a law that makes homosexual marriage illegal anyway? I can't help but think that it would be difficult to get people to the polls so they can vote to enshrine in the Constitution a law that already does the job. I'm not a big fan of that law to begin with, but I'm not most Idaho voters.
I'm curious about the result. Constitutional amendments aren't easy to pass, but I suspect that sombody - probably an out of state funded group - will be promoting the amendment.
You're right about the libertarian streak. I think it's also a good point that the amendmentis sure to stir up litigation and cost the taxpayers $$$.
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