Massachusetts lawmakers kill anti-gay marriage amendment
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By Steve LeBlanc Associated Press - Published: June 15, 2007
BOSTON — Massachusetts lawmakers blocked a proposed constitutional amendment Thursday that would have let voters decide whether to ban gay marriage in the only state in which same-sex marriages are legal.
The vote — which came amid heavy pressure to kill the measure from Gov. Deval Patrick and legislative leaders — was a stunning victory for gay marriage advocates and a devastating blow to efforts to reverse a historic 2003 court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
"Today's vote is not just a victory for marriage equality. It was a victory for equality itself," Patrick said.
The question needed the approval of 50 of 200 lawmakers in consecutive sessions to advance to the 2008 ballot. It got the first approval at the end of last session in January with 62 votes but failed to move forward Thursday with a 45-151 vote.
As the tally was announced, the halls of the Statehouse erupted in cheers and applause from supporters of gay marriage gathered outside the House chambers.
"We're proud of our state today, and we applaud the Legislature for showing that Massachusetts is strongly behind fairness," said Lee Swislow, executive director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders.
"Equality for gay and lesbian citizens has enriched our state, made our communities stronger, and our families happier," Swislow said. "The vote today was the triumph of time, experience, and understanding over fear and prejudice."
In contrast to several past joint sessions, there was no debate Thursday: Senate President Therese Murray opened the constitutional convention by calling for a vote, and the session was gaveled to a close immediately after.
Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute that backed the amendment, pledged to continue fighting. He questioned the legality of what he said was rampant horse trading in the final hours, saying there was "tremendous pressure and we believe some tremendous incentives" to flip votes.
"We're shocked at the number of votes that changed in a 24-hour period," he said.
Patrick said he made no deals, other than to agree to appear at fundraisers for lawmakers who opposed the amendment.
Among the nine lawmakers who switched from last session's vote was Rep. Richard Ross, a Wrentham Republican who said there was trading for his vote.
Ross said he no longer believes that people should vote on the matter, and feared that "hatred and vitriol" would dominate the ballot question campaign.
"Nine thousand of them have now married, who have blended into society, who have hurt no one," Ross said. "I just couldn't see exposing them to all of that stuff over the next two years.
"I know there's going to be a lot of folks that I need to apologize to in my district," he said. "Whatever happens I'm moving forward. I know I did the right thing."
Republican presidential candidate and former Gov. Mitt Romney called the vote "a regrettable setback" and said it adds to the need to pass a national amendment banning gay marriage.
"Marriage is an institution that goes to the heart of our society, and our leaders can no longer abdicate their responsibility," he said.
Raymond Flynn, the former Boston mayor and former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican who was the lead sponsor of the proposed amendment, said the 170,000 Massachusetts residents who signed the petition for the ban "had their vote stolen from them."
The defeat of the question — after more than three years of sometimes wrenching debate — makes the successful mounting a future challenge even more unlikely.
Any effort to mount a new ballot question would take years at a time when political support in Massachusetts is swinging firmly behind gay marriage and public attention has moved onto other issues, including the state's landmark health care law.
For gay couples, the vote marked what could be the end of a struggle that began in 2001, when seven same-sex couples, denied marriage licenses, sued in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston to challenge the state's gay marriage ban.
More than 8,500 same sex couples have married in Massachusetts since they became legal in May 2004.
Constance Cervone and Janet Deegan were married on the first day that same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts — May 17, 2004 — and hugged each other on the steps of the Statehouse after the vote.
"This is my wife and she gets to stay my wife, the person I've chosen to live my life with," Deegan said, her arm around Cervone. "Our relationship is acknowledged and more than tolerated. I'm not a lesser citizen."
The vote is also a victory for the state's Democratic leadership. House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, D-Boston and Murray, D-Plymouth, worked with Patrick to change votes — arguing the rights of a minority group should not be put to a popular vote.
Outside the Statehouse, some tempers flared after the vote. A gay marriage opponent, Diane Steele, 52, of Richmond, was arrested for assault and battery after she slapped a gay marriage supporter during an argument. She was released after posting $40 bail, police said.
Rinaldo Delgallo, a lawyer in Springfield and opponent of gay marriage, said he's disappointed people won't have a chance to vote on the definition of marriage.
"I think it would have been much better for the gay lobby if they won at the ballot box," said Delgallo, 45. "But I think they would lose. That's why they worked so hard to defeat it."
Trisha Malphrus, a recreational therapist in Reading, said she believes in traditional marriage and hopes one day to be able to cast a vote on the issue.
"God's in control of this," she said. "God is going to turn this around."
Associated Press writers Glen Johnson and Ken Maguire contributed to this report.
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