New England political culture: WASPs/Yankees, Catholics, and diversity

[greenforest32]

I'd be surprised if Massachusetts would vote against marijuana legalization, based on how strongly they voted for medical marijuana and decriminalization.

That's what I'm thinking too but I was surprised to see the 'Death with Dignity' initiative fail in 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Death_with_Dignity_Initiative

[greenforest32]

I'd be surprised if Massachusetts would vote against marijuana legalization, based on how strongly they voted for medical marijuana and decriminalization.

That's what I'm thinking too but I was surprised to see the 'Death with Dignity' initiative fail in 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Death_with_Dignity_Initiative

Note that on the map in that article the rural areas, which were historically more Protestant and are now generally very secular, were mostly in favor, as were southern Middlesex County, the Outer Cape and Islands, and less strongly the North Shore and MetroWest, whereas with the exception of Boston and its immediate vicinity the traditionally Catholic major cities were against (and Boston was practically tied; Suffolk County as a whole actually went against the question by nine thousand votes). Eastern Massachusetts, outside the areas I mentioned which are mostly considered fairly upscale and home to a lot of people who aren't originally from 'round these parts, is still strongly culturally Catholic, in a way that's for whatever reason proven easier to mobilize against things like this than against, for example, gay marriage.  Moreover, even some people who were supportive of the idea in theory had problems with the legislation as proposed. The Massachusetts Medical Society coming out against assisted suicide even on a conceptual level also didn't help. People take the opinions of groups like that seriously here, for better or for worse. Also keep in mind that despite all this it failed very narrowly. Absent even one of the above factors it probably would have passed.

Yeah that is interesting, especially as Vermont is poised to pass a similar bill but through the legislature: http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2013/05/13/vermont-becomes-first-state-to-give-legislative-backing-to-assisted-suicide/

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