Why...

So I hear on the news that North Carolina voted against gay marriage, honestly I'm not very surprised by this, but what I am surprised by is the reaction of people on Facebook and the news channels.

I generally consider myself a republican/libertarian and vote along those lines, however I'm disappointed to see that gay people can't have the same rights to get married and then taken to the cleaners when they get divorced, ok small bit of personal sarcasm there.  If two gay people want to have some binding legal commitment to each other I'm fine with that, and honestly they should be allowed to.

Folks listen, NC is in the *bible belt*, not to mention one of the most conservative states in America.  They did after all elect and keep  Jesse Helms in the Senate for five terms.  Why should anyone be surprised that this would happen?  Look at this wikipedia page, all the southern conservative states are opposed to this.  You have just as good a chance of North Carolina allowing gay marriage as you do of going to Saudi Arabia and expecting religious equality or for women to have the same rights as men.

This, of course, is what de Tocqueville, John Adams and John Mill describe.  Although I like the way Lord Acton puts it:

The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority, or rather of that party, not always the majority, that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections.

—The History of Freedom in Antiquity, 1877

I find that Americans tend to laud democracy, and while it is certainly preferable to other forms of government, we overlook its failings when the outcome of a public vote isn't what is considered "right".  This is what the people of North Carolina want.  If someone doesn't like it they are free to try to change the law.