Who the H*ll cares about the voters?

On gay marriage, I support civil unions, with both the benefits and the burdens imposed against straight couples. I do not like the use of the word marriage, which I believe has religious, as well as civic connotations, and which I believe the state has no business regulating. Of course, being a Californian, my feelings are irrelevant, at least as far as our Legislature is concerned:

The California Legislature on Tuesday became the first legislative body in the country to approve same-sex marriages, as gay-rights advocates overcame two earlier defeats in the Assembly. *** But opponents repeatedly cited the public's vote five years ago to approve Proposition 22, an initiative put on the ballot by gay marriage opponents to keep California from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states or countries.

What the Bill's supporter's will say, of course, is that voters in the South would have voted against initiatives to free the slaves, and that it would have been an important human rights issue had a Legislature ignored the voters. However, I don't think it's quite the same thing when a Legislature blithely overturns the entire course of human history, despite the voters' strong opposition to that idea.