Yes, but that really shouldn't have been voted on in the first place.
Why is it even being debated? >_> Shouldn't it be
common sense to make it illegal. Or are LGBT people something less valuable than straight gender binary people?
It really shouldn't have been. It wasn't very democratic with groups like the Mormon church getting way too involved and all the fear-mongering that went on.
And "the common people" weren't exactly all unhappy. If I recall, the vote was something like 52%/48%. Big changes should need more than a simple majority vote, not that this should have ever been up for a vote. There are basic rights that shouldn't be up for such easy changes.
Of course it's legal, but it's still wrong. Hateful, discriminating people are a scourge on society and the sooner they change their ways the better.
And committing a crime based on hate was what I was talking about. If someone attacks another person, let's say it's for being gay, they're not just hurting society in a general way (which is all they would be if they attacked a random person), but they're also physically trying to stop gays specifically from enjoying the same rights as everyone else, ie., trying to make them second class citizens, which is worse than a random attack.
Our friend I quoted in my last post claimed that California isn't democratic I was just stating that was wrong. Whether you agree with Prop 8 or not (I don't agree with it) or even if you think average citizens shouldn't be able to pass laws is a whole other issue.
On the note of campaign contributions, the US Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that limiting political contributions by organizations (including the Mormon or any other church) is unconstitutional. The majority opinion said that corporations and individuals alike have a constitutional right to voice their opinions by participated in the electoral process and that by limiting contributions, the government is opressing that organizations' 1st Amendment right to voice its political opinion.
Now regarding ballot initiatives and Prop 8. First, in order to prove that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right, you would have to prove that marriage in general is a fundamental right. Homosexuals aren't the only group that are barred from marriage (take the aforementioned Mormons and their polygamy for example). By that point of view, bans on polygamy are unconstitutional because they deny certain group the freedom to practice their religion and deny them the basic right of marriage. Many argue that marriage isn't a right but rather a privelege the government grants you in order to advance a compelling interest they have.
If we begin saying that certain issues shouldn't be allowed on the ballot then we might as well do away with the initiative process altogether. If we did that any party who was simply bitter they lost an election could but restrictions on the initiative process to the point that it loses it's very democratic ideal.