What a day in Massachusetts today. Today the legislature convened for their last day of the session. Up until today it was unclear if they would end up voting for a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage-making it between one man and one woman, after it was already legalized in 2004.

So what is the state of gay marriage in Massachusetts? First there are a couple of things that you should know. Opponents of gay marriage only needed 50 of the total 200 votes to pass this constitutional amendment on to the next legislature next session, then if it passes next session, it will be moved to the ballot where the people of Massachusetts will vote on civil rights.

So today, the amendment was brought to the floor without debate. It passed. The vote was 61-132 in favor of advancing the proposed constitutional amendment. Backers of equality failed to rally the 151 votes they needed to kill the measure but succeeded in forcing an hour delay to reconsider the initial vote.

A second vote then took place. The vote tally was then 62-134, still enough to move the amendment forward to the next legislative session.

A total of 17 lawmakers who voted Tuesday won't be returning in the new session, including some of the most vocal opponents of same-sex marriage. Supporters of marriage equality say they will pick up a total of seven votes to block the proposed amendment in the new session, according to Marc Solomon, campaign director for MassEquality.

Massachusetts has some very strong allies of equality in their legislature, as well as their new Governor who is set to take office. The following are some statements made regarding the repulsive nature of writing discrimination into the constitution.

House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, (D-Boston):
DiMasi said the amendment discriminates against gay citizens and vowed to work with Patrick to defeat the question before it reaches voters.

"Today a minority of legislators voted to advance a proposal that takes away the civil rights those couples are guaranteed to under our constitution," DiMasi said in a statement. "This initiative petition is offensive and deplorable."

Governor-elect Deval Patrick, a supporter of marriage equality, urged legislators to avoid a vote on the proposed amendment. A vote to adjourn the joint constitutional convention without taking up the gay marriage amendment would have killed the measure and put supporters of the ban back to square one. Governor-elect Patrick said:

"This is not just another question for popular decision. This is a question, under the equal protection clause, about what freedoms the minority is entitled to," Patrick told reporters after meeting with DiMasi. "This is the first time that the petition process has ever been used to consider reinserting discrimination into the constitution."
After the vote, Patrick said issued a written statement saying he was disappointed.

"We have never used the initiative petition to limit individual freedoms and personal privacy, but today's vote was a regrettable step in that direction," he said.

Labels: constitutional amendment, marriage, Massachusetts

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 02, 2007 at 8:29 PM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.