>SNIP
>>And I think this year election, at least in the U.S., is a good example of your theory.
>>
>>We had practially all the main stream media bashing Bush. We had renegade courts granting wedding licenses to same sex couples with no regard to what the law states.
>
>Dean,
>I think you're misunderstanding what those "renegade courts" were doing. They were upholding the law as it was written and definitely not ignoring the law.
>
>It's interesting to me that states with 'gay marriage' plebescites ALL had them agreed, some even with very draconian measures in them. This is a prime example of the "tyranny of the masses" that your founding fathers were so concerned about preventing! It now becomes impossible, in those states at least once enacted, for marriage-minded gays to pursue their own "life, liberty and HAPPINESS". The masses have denied them that right! How good is that??? I suppose it's perfectly fine when it only involves OTHER PEOPLE. Now lets see some state pass a law outlawing the ownership and possession of hand guns and see what happens!
>
>cheers

1....
I believe in gay marriage. That having been said..............

In San Francisco it was a runaway mayor who clearly and intentionally violated the law by issuing large numbers of liscenses. I hope the very near future will see the repeal of those laws, but considering the results of the last elections, I fear that a bigoted majority will continue to tyrannize this particular minority.


2...
Your point about the "tyranny of the masses" is apt. But as a historical note, our founding fathers were not at all concerned about it. The phrase was coined by Alexander De Tocqueville in a 1835 book called "Democracy in America." (Name, title, and date are culled from memories forged in decades old schooling and are subject to error). His thesis was that the "Tyranny of the Majority" was preventing the implementation of a true democracy.

Our early institutions did nothing about protecting minority views. In fact, the "Alien and Sedition Act" was among the earliest laws passed by Congress.