Pro- and Con- Constitutional Rallies

(Doug Hardy photo) Christine Stuart wrote an account about the dueling constitutional rallies from the Capitol on Sunday.

CT News Junkie has the details:

On the south lawn of the state Capitol more than 50 people rallied against convening a Constitutional Convention, while thousands gathered on the north side of the Capitol in support of a convention, with the ultimate goal of banning gay marriage in the state.

More than 2,000 people traveled to Hartford Sunday to let lawmakers and judges know they are opposed to gay marriage.

“We are here today to send a message to the court to say, ‘Hands off marriage, let the people decide’,” Peter Wolfgang, executive director of The Family Institute of Connecticut, said.

A constitutional convention would open up the possibility of amending the laws in Connecticut to allow the same kind of expensive and ill-conceived ballot driven initiatives, such as the endless stream of "propositions", that voters in California are subjected to, often with disastrous results.

The basic idea of constitutional law is to protect even unpopular freedoms. The looming prospect of "mob rule", with its attendant fear campaigns, scare tactics, and emotional appeals, isn't what our nation was founded upon. We need to protect freedoms for everyone, regardless of what your personal beliefs are. Just as religious people would hate it if their right to worship as they wish was curtailed in any way, we should also protect everyone's rights to equality under the law.

In November, support a "NO" vote on the Constitutional Convention question.