Notes From D. R.

Let’s face it, folks: the Massachusetts Legislature will never allow a vote on the issue of same-sex marriage.

Our lawmakers will permanently prevent a vote not because they necessarily fear that gay marriage will go down to defeat, but because they are ideologically committed to the idea that gay marriage is an issue of "civil rights," and since "civil rights should never be put to a vote," the Legislature by definition cannot allow a referendum on the issue.

Opponents of same-sex marriage have argued that many of these lawmakers are simply cowards, intimidated by the perceived power of gay activists. A handful may well be. However, it should be obvious by now that a majority of the anti-vote legislators are behaving this way because they truly believe that every last person who supports the legal definition of marriage as one man and one woman does so out of anti-gay animus. They will never "let the people vote," for they feel that those who want a vote are no different from the folks who killed Matthew Shepard nearly a decade ago.

How should supporters of traditional marriage respond when the Legislature is so ideologically rigid on this issue? Gay marriage supporters would, of course, sarcastically suggest that they move out of the state. However, the real answer is to seek the electoral defeat of every elected official and candidate who feels that anyone who raises questions about same-sex marriage is a bigot. It’s a hard task, to be sure–but it can be done. In fact, supporters of traditional marriage could start as soon as this November.