Grand Rapids , Michigan ( CNN ) -- I wonder if black people would be still in the fields picking cotton today if the 13th Amendment -- the one abolishing slavery -- was placed on the ballot back in 1865 . I wonder if Hillary Clinton would be at home baking cookies instead of serving as secretary of state if women 's suffrage was put to a vote back in 1919 . In other words , I wonder just how far along we would be as a society if the oppressive majority held all of the legislative and judicial power over the oppressed minority , essentially yanking the teeth out of Congress and the Supreme Court . I 'm sure you 've heard a lot about the gay agenda , but may not know what 's in it . Here 's what you do : Download a copy of the United States Constitution , read it . Everything the LGBT community wants is in there . Sounds like an oversimplification ? It 's not . TED.com : What you do n't know about marriage . There 's not a single issue regarding the LGBT community that has been covered in the media or deliberated in courts that is counter to the articles of the Constitution . On the other hand , the fact that in 29 states it is legal to fire someone just because they 're gay flies in the face of the 14th amendment , particularly the passage that says `` No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States . '' That may not be consistent with one 's religion , and that 's fine . But the Bible and the Constitution are not the same thing . I ca n't think of a single major civil rights victory that came by way of a general election and so I am not surprised that all 32 states that have voted on marriage equality , voted against marriage equality . It is human nature to resist change , especially change that may bring significant inconvenience to the vast majority of the people , those who are enjoying the spoils of the status quo . `` If it 's not broke , do n't fix it , '' was never said by the community that was demanding their rights . TED.com : Will our kids be a different species ? It was always the mantra of those who liked their slaves ; who liked their women barefoot and pregnant ; who felt uncomfortable working next to someone with cerebral palsy ; who get squeamish at the thought of two men falling in love . We elect members of Congress to lead us , not appease us . This is why our history has so many civil rights victories come by way of Congress or the courts and so few if any civil rights victories by election . When it gets right down to it , culturally we 're like children who have to be forced to eat our vegetables . We like the Constitution when it can be used to endorse life the way we think it ought to be and we ignore it , or vote against it when the Bill of Rights or the various amendments challenge our world view or force us to make accommodations -- however big or small -- for others . This week election officials in the state of Washington announced that a referendum seeking to nullify the recently passed law legalizing same-sex marriage has qualified for the November ballot . Washington joins Maryland , Maine and Minnesota as the next round of states that will put the civil rights of some of their citizens to a vote . Early polls indicate that at least one of them will indeed vote in favor of marriage equality , which is a victory for the 14th Amendment of the Constitution . Though it 's a bit of a shame that the Constitution needs such victories and that history has taught us nothing . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson .
Congress says everything the gay community wants is in the Bible . Civil rights for African-Americans did n't come through popular vote , he says . Congress and the courts took the lead and popular opinion eventually moved , he says . Hillary Clinton : In at least one states , it 's still legal to fire someone because he or she is gay .