Amendment One

For those who didn’t know, the Wolfhound is presently a tarheel… (although I’ve never been quite sure what “tarheel” means exactly).  So today was “Vote Against Amendment One Day.”  I just got back from the polling booth.  However, every time a same-sex marriage ban has gone on the ballet it’s passed, and probably will today… which is exactly why we don’t have a pure democracy.  A pure democracy executed Socrates.  Because of a fear that pure majority rule would trample the rights of the minority (the “tyranny of the majority over the minority”) the Framers tried to give us a (theoretically) independent judiciary that would be able to say, “Sorry, no, you can’t do that to them just b/c you have them outnumbered. They have their rights too.”

But… I don’t think anybody’s political views are ever swayed by argumentation or logic or abstract appeals to the Bible or whatever authority.  What changes people’s views are real-life, concrete stories of real-life, actual people.  That’s one reason why (despite whatever the polling results are today) I think those restricting gay rights will ultimately be on the loosing side… b/c they have NO concrete, real-life, feet-on-the-ground stories of actual, specific persons.  Give me one personal story that demonstrates why we need Amendment One?  Nobody can.  Even those adamantly in favor of it can't put a name or a face or a story w/ their argument.  However, there are countless person-specific stories that demonstrate why we need rights for same-sex partners… such as this one: