MAJORITY? - Majority rule not always ruling right

Majority rule not always ruling right

Posted: Tuesday, October 12, 2004 12:00 am

A lot of controversial issues here lately have all surrounded majority rule. A great example is the gay marriage amendment that is currently being debated on the state and federal levels.

Many conservatives claim the majority of Americans are against gay marriage and thus gay marriage should be banned. Well, if a majority of Americans are against gay marriage then it should be law right?

The answer is no. I would never claim the American people are dumb, but the fact is the American "majority" has been wrong a lot in the past.

One can look at the issue of civil rights for example. If America had gone with simple majority rule then the majority of white Southerners would have voted to keep segregation in the 1950s and 1960s.

Another great example of flawed majority rule can also be seen in the civil rights era when many white Southerners (and a large portion of white Northerners) opposed interracial marriage.

Our founding fathers set up the Constitution to avoid mob rule so a frantic majority could not step all over the rights of the minority. They did not intend the legislative process to legislate morals or values. Whenever America strives to legislate based on simple majority rule and nothing else, it's wrong.

Conservatives are also hypocrites when it comes to majority rule. Some Republicans say we should amend the Constitution to save marriage from utter destruction by activist judges.

What many conservatives don't like to tell you is a vast majority of Americans support a ban on assault weapons in this country.

President Bush did not reauthorize the assault weapon ban claiming it hurt gun owners.

So my question to conservatives is if pure majority rule is such a great thing when it comes to gay marriage, why can't you apply these same rules to the ban on assault weapons?

The answer is liberals and conservatives alike are both guilty of using majority rule when it is convenient to their cause and this is wrong.

America should do what is right no matter if 5 percent of the population is in favor or 95 percent is in favor.

Where is all the yelling when it comes to "activist judges" in such cases as Brown v. Board of Education or Roe v. Wade? These cases, at the time, were very controversial and the judges who resided over these cases were also claimed to be activist judges. They faced the same criticisms as judges do today.

The more judges who take a role in moving forward progressive social issues, the better off our country is. The vast majority of Americans now support civil rights and a woman's right to choose because of the same activist judges that so many conservatives love to complain about.

I hope and pray our legislators and judges, whether it be gay marriage or any other social issue, will do what is right no matter how many people agree or disagree with the issue at hand.

-- Vaughn Wilson is a sophomore majoring in Social Science Education.

Source: http://www.redandblack.com