Thursday, 4:30 PM
Same-sex marriage vote draws demonstrators to State House
(George Rizer/Globe Staff)
A group opposed to same-sex marriage prayed and read bibles (above) while clergy in support of gay weddings (below) marched through Boston Common toward the State House.
By Yvonne Abraham and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff, and April Yee, Globe Correspondent
Protestors for and against same-sex marriage faced off today outside the State House, standing on opposite sides of Beacon Street.
Supporters of the ban on gay marriage held a sea of green signs with white letters that read: "Let the people vote!" They want legislators to approve the proposed ban at today's Constitutional Convention so it will be on the 2008 ballot as a referendum.
Across the street, advocates of same-sex marriage hosted placards that read, "All Families are Equal," "It's wrong to vote on rights," and "Proud of Massachusetts = Rights." In unison, they chanted, "Show me what equality looks like. This is what equality looks like."
Standing with supporters of same-sex marriage was George Clattenburg, whose daughter is married to a woman. "My wife and I have six children, and two happen to be gay," said Clattenburg, 74. "I just feel our gay kids should have the same rights as our other kids."
Across Beacon Street, Cesar Munera, 38, clutched two green signs. He said he took the day off from his job as a building manager to urge the Legislature to send the measure to the ballot.
"I respect everybody, gays or lesbians, but they have to respect our values, too," said Munera, who lives in Watertown. "I'm here and I believe God is going to do something special today."
Amin Mansour stood with his 8-year-old son Freddie and said he had been to the State House three or four times to push for passage of the amendment.
"What is the delay?" he said. "The lawmakers' duty is to vote”
"Any minority should submit themselves to the majority," Mansour continued. "We respect every right but there are general norms and general standards, and one woman and one man is the condition of marriage. If we open the door for any relationship, some people believe in four women to one man."
On the other side of Beacon Street were Jennifer Doe, 32, and Jennifer Rosenlund, 31, who married two years ago. They came to protest the measure ban because they "want to make sure other couples that along have the same opportunity we did," Doe said.
"We try to come every time," Rosenlund said. Doe added: "I think our bosses are getting a little annoyed.”
The couple live in Everett, and have a new state representative, Stephen Stat Smith, whom they expect to vote against the amendment. Their district was previously represented by Edward G. Connolly, a same-sex marriage opponent who died this year.
Smith is "taking a really big risk and we really appreciate it," Doe said. "Our neighbors? Not so happy."
Opponents of the amendment hope today for an outright defeat. If that can't happen, they want the session adjourned rather than risk losing the vote. A ballot fight would bring millions of dollars into a campaign from conservative groups all over the country, and hold gay and lesbian couples up to ridicule and hatred, they said.
"I would love it if they killed the amendment," said the Rev. Maureen Reddington-Wilde, a longtime leader in the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry, and a veteran of years of battles over the amendment. "It would be nice to put it to an end. But if they can't do that, I hope they adjourn."
Robin Brophy, who stood on the opposite side of Beacon Street, felt very differently. She has been at five or six Constitutional Conventions and countless other rallies urging lawmakers to vote the amendment onto the ballot.
"I've been here for every one of them," she said. "I want to make sure those 170,000 signatures count for something, and the people don't get disenfranchised. If you don't stand up for what you believe in, it's tragic."
Brophy traveled from East Bridgewater alone to stand in the unseasonably chilly weather today because she is afraid that gay marriage will make families headed by heterosexual couples "obsolete."
"They can't procreate," she said of gays and lesbians. "Are they going to just adopt all the time? People are going to start selling their eggs. We're opening up a huge can of worms here."
