Massachusetts state lawmakers have voted 100-91 to adjourn until Nov. 9 rather than take action on a ballot proposal to support marriage. "Democracy lost today," said state Rep. Marie Parente, a Democrat. She's right. State Rep. Thomas Sannicandro (D) said he voted for the delay so that state legislators could vote their consciences without the pressure of having to face the voters soon afterward. So much for representative government! He knows that his values and those of most of his fellow 99 spineless politicians are out-of-synch with their constituents on this issue. Sannicandro doesn't want the issue on the ballot at all. "If we do leave it to the people, it is a discrimination vote."

With the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court giving the go ahead earlier this week for the amendment to proceed, which will reverse the 2004 ruling of the Court creating same-sex marriage, it is becoming pretty clear that the leadership of the legislature has been hiding behind the courts on this issue. It is hard to believe that this is the same state that gave us great statesmen like Samuel Adams, John Adams, and John Hancock who were not afraid to take a stand and represent the people. What these politicians are doing is effectively to deny the people of Massachusetts the right to govern themselves. Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said it well: "In a democracy, the people are sovereign." The U.S. Constitution guarantees each state "a republican form of government." The question is, is Massachusetts still a republic? FRC