More Thoughts on the California Ballot Measures

I’m always puzzled by the collective stupidity of Californians when it comes to ballot measures. In addition to the despicable passage of a constitutional ban on gay marriage (Prop 8), which I addressed in a previous post, here are a few other observations on the results:

The largest margin of victory came when 63.2% voted in favor of improved standards for confining farm animals (Prop 2). Yet the same population essentially voted 60.0% against "improved" standards for confining nonviolent drug offenders - by denying treatment as an alternative to prison (Prop 5). Question: Would Californians vote to tolerate non-violent drug use by farm animals, if it were shown to improve their living standards during confinement?

Californians voted 53.5% in favor of increased rights for crime victims (Prop 9), yet the largest margin of defeat came when 69.3% voted against increased funding for law enforcement (Prop 6). I guess they figure we might as well have as many victims as possible to take advantage of their newly won rights!

And finally, Californians rightly rejected a requirement for parental notification for teen abortions (Prop 4). However, the same population - which includes all of the religious zealots who lead the fight against both reproductive rights and gay rights - voted to ban gay marriage (Prop 8). Question: How about if we just allow gay marriage but don’t notify the religious zealots that it’s happening?