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Defending equal marriage rights
In just a few weeks, the Massachusetts legislature will take up a new Constitutional amendment—this one in the form of a ballot initiative—to repeal existing laws permitting same-sex couples to marry.
On November 18, 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that the Massachusetts Constitution guarantees gay and lesbian couples the right to marry. The SJC wrote, "the Constitution affirms the dignity and equality of all individuals. It forbids the creation of second-class citizens.... the right to marry means little if it does not include the right to marry the person of one's choice."
The ruling became effective on May 17, 2004, and more than 8,000 gay and lesbian couples have since married in Massachusetts.
While public opinion supporting equal marriage has grown to a majority, opposition has been vocal and well funded. Supporters of marriage equality, led by the political advocacy group MassEquality and their allies, are now facing the second attempt to amend the Constitution to take away this constitutionally- protected right.
The first attempt was to amend the Constitution by banning same-sex marriage and replacing it with civil union protections. That amendment narrowly passed at the Constitutional Convention of March 2004.
In September 2005, when it reached the required second legislative vote, the measure lost 157 to 39, reflecting the growing public consensus for marriage equality and against writing discrimination into the Constitution. Constitutional challenge
Defeated in the Legislature, the opponents of marriage equality launched an initiative petition to amend the Constitution. Such a petition requires the support of only 50 legislators to move forward as a ballot question.
This current proposal would not only take away marriage for loving gay and lesbian couples, there would be no civil union, either—no legal protections whatsoever. The text of the new amendment is as follows: "When recognizing marriages entered into after the adoption of this amendment by the people, the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall define marriage only as the union of one man and one woman."
The Legislature could convene a Constitutional Convention as early as May 10, 2006. If the proposed amendment receives at least 50 votes in two consecutive Constitutional Conventions, it will be on the State ballot in November 2008.
[The writer is the Political Director of MassEquality]