In the 1970s and 1980s those who supported civil rights for gays tried to secure those rights by working through the courts and the federal and state legislatures. In the 1990s, strategies to secure equal protection also include the referendum as a way for homosexuals to win new rights or protect the ones they have gained. More and more often, those opposed to gay rights are also using referendums as a way to voice their concerns about civil rights for homosexuals.

In the referendum process, a group of citizens that produces a specified number of signatures on a petition can get a proposal put to a direct popular vote. This direct approach avoids the long delays citizens often encounter when they try to work for change through their state legislatures. Referendums have been used to decide a wide array of issues. For...