Thursday, 4:30 PM
Legislature approves step toward ban on gay marriage
By Globe Staff
A constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage cleared a major hurdle in the Legislature this afternoon when 61 lawmakers voted to move the proposal forward. The measure, which only needed 50 votes to stay alive, must still be passed again in the next legislative session to make it on the ballot as a referendum in 2008.
The initiative was opposed by 132 lawmakers, 12 short of the number needed to defeat the measure. The vote came without debate.
The proposed constitutional amendment would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman and ban future same-sex weddings.
Immediately after the initiative advanced, lawmakers moved to recess the Constitutional Convention for an hour. Legislators could come back and reconsider the vote and kill the initiative.
Supporters of the ban hailed the vote as a victory.
"This is democracy in action," Kris Mineau of the Massachusetts Family Institute told the Associated Press. "It's not a vengeance campaign. It's not a hate campaign. It's just an opportunity for the people to vote."
Senator Sue Tucker, a Democrat from Andover, told the AP she voted against the amendment.
"I'm very proud that we took a vote," Tucker said. "I think we owed the people that. At the same time, I'm also equally proud of my 'no' vote."
Earlier today, Governor-elect Deval Patrick urged lawmakers to defeat the measure by any means necessary to permanently end the debate in Massachusetts, the only state that allows gay marriage.
If the vote stands and the measure advances, it would be a major victory for Governor Mitt Romney, who leaves office in two days but is widely expected to run for president as a social conservative. Romney spearheaded a lawsuit that tried to force lawmakers to act after they adjourned a Constitutional Convention in November without voting on the proposal.
Backers of the proposed constitutional amendment collected more than 123,000 certified signatures in an effort to get the measure on the ballot. However, the initiative still needs the support of 50 lawmakers in two consecutive sessions.
