Can Mitt Romney spur a broader debate?

Beyond Same-Sex Marriage
[FONT=Verdana, Times]Can Mitt Romney spur a broader debate?[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Times]BY BRENDAN MINITER [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Times]Tuesday, November 28, 2006 12:01 a.m.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Times]Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is taking the battle over same-sex marriage to a new level by taking it back to the very court that made this mess: the state's Supreme Judicial Court. On Friday Mr. Romney--perhaps laying the groundwork for a presidential run--filed a lawsuit against his state Legislature for failing to vote on whether to put a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on the ballot. He says the Legislature was required to do just that after a record number of residents (170,000) signed petitions demanding a popular vote. [/FONT]
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Mr. Romney's case isn't expected go very far. Aside from the obvious separation-of-powers problem, Mr. Romney is asking the same court that imposed same-sex marriage three years ago to parse his constitutional logic. Like a second marriage, expecting the court to allow a rebuke of its earlier decision is a triumph of hope over experience.

But Mr. Romney's case does have one salutary effect. He filed suit against the Legislature not for failing to endorse a ban on same-sex marriage, but for using a series of procedural moves to avoid voting on the issue and thereby keeping it off the ballot. Mr. Romney's lawsuit is, therefore, an attempt to use the state's high court for what it has heretofore resisted being: A bulwark for democracy.

- rest at www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/bminiter/?id=110009308​

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