The "actual steps" were his democratic rights as a citizen in a free country. It was a matter put to vote, and he backed a specific outcome of the vote. Neither the vote was illegal, not he acted on anything outside of that.

Just because you think other people should "obviously have that right" doesn't say anything. I think that people should have the right to consume whatever drug they want freely, and that they should have the right to not be executed by the state.

Are all persons who voted / backed laws against those things oppresive, or it's only your particular pet cause?