Connecticut Bigots Seek the first constitutional convention in the state in 40 years
Posted on October 7, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized
A deceptively simple question on Connecticut’s ballot next month is stirring up rallies against gay marriage, counterdemonstrations, demands for direct initiatives and fears of big-money lobbying campaigns by right-wing groups.
Voters will be asked whether the state should hold its first constitutional convention in more than 40 years.
Those in favor want to change the Connecticut Constitution to allow for direct initiative, which would mean voters could call for ballot measures on any legislative matter. Those opposed believe voter-driven initiatives in other states have been misused by special interest groups.
Two demonstrations at the State Capitol a week ago outlined the tangled goals of both sides.
At the larger one, more than 2,000 people called for a new convention — and demonstrated against same-sex marriage. On the same day, 50 demonstrators met on the opposite side of the building to argue against a convention. Among them were members of organized labor, women’s rights groups and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Proponents say changing the constitution to permit direct ballot initiatives would restore “one man, one vote” democracy. They say that entrenched politicians have blocked every previous effort to get an initiative amendment.
“A handful of legislators control everything that happens in the State Capitol,” said Peter Wolfgang, executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, a conservative group that opposes same-sex marriage. “This is all about challenging the status quo, about breaking up the old boy network.”
Advocates for a convention include Democrats and Republicans, anti-abortion activists and groups against gay marriage, not to mention people who want eminent domain reform. The state’s Supreme Court is currently considering a lawsuit filed by eight same-sex couples seeking the right to marry in Connecticut.
Those opposed to gay marriage have said that if the court ruled in the couples’ favor, they believed they could counter the ruling with a direct ballot initiative. Mr. Wolfgang said his group does not want the convention solely to ban same-sex unions. More important, he said, is the direct ballot initiative that would “let the people decide” on such major issues.
Opponents say that a constitutional convention could turn into a political nightmare of competing special interests and high-powered lobbying.
The state comptroller, Nancy S. Wyman, warned that “ballot questions can too easily serve as a tool for the minority — better known as special interests — to overturn the will of the majority.”
“It’s really a form of check-book politics,” said John Yrchik, executive director of the state’s largest teacher’s union, the Connecticut Education Association. He said that at a time when Connecticut has just introduced reforms aimed at restricting the influence lobbying money has on politics, “the direct ballot initiative would put special interest money back into the process in a big way.”
The coalition campaigning against a convention includes all four of Connecticut’s statewide elected officials: Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz; Treasurer Denise L. Nappier; Attorney General Richard Blumenthal; and Ms. Wyman.
Mr. Blumenthal said Connecticut already has a method for amending its constitution that has been used successfully 30 times in the past three decades. MORE @ NY TIMES
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