LAT -- Speaking out recently against Proposition 8, the proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown made an appeal for the importance of protecting the rights of same-sex couples. And then he urged his audience to vote yes on the proposition.
Brown misspoke. He intended to advocate a no vote. But he isn't alone in confusing which side is which. As election day nears, both supporters and opponents of Proposition 8 worry that voters will be confused by a choice that can seem counterintuitive: Voting no on the initiative means voting yes on gay marriage, while voting yes means gay marriage would be disallowed.
This is one of the biggest problems with legislation by ballot initiative. The measures are almost always crafted in such a way as to confuse the voters, who are usually low on good information and high on :30-second TV commercial consumption.
Fat, lazy and stupid is no way to run a democracy.
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