Originally Posted By: the G-man

Actually, the polls I've seen show that a majority of New Yorkers support gay marriage. You need to remember that this is a liberal state. Even republicans here are often moderate to liberal.


 Originally Posted By: Wonder Boy

I acknowledged that N Y is a liberal state, where no doubt many support gay marriage. The N Y Daily news poll you cited says 56% of New York staters support gay marriage.
My point is that still leaves a large minority (44%) who do NOT support gay marriage. And that large minority will not feel represented by this vote.


Assuming the polls are accurate, a referendum would have passed 56-44% in favor of gay marriage. So the "large minority" would still "not feel represented" by the vote.

Every election has a side that wins and a side that loses. There is simply no reason to assume that a referendum would somehow be "more fair" than an act of the duly-elected legislature.