Churches push 1-day blitz on marriage

Churches from various denominations opposed to gay marriage are preparing for what they are calling ''Protect Marriage Sunday" on Oct. 2, a one-day signature-gathering blitz they expect will generate enough names to advance a 2008 ballot initiative banning same-sex weddings.

Catholics, Protestants from black and Hispanic communities, and members of other denominations will take part in a coordinated effort to collect tens of thousands of signatures at worship services in all corners of the state, organizers say. Some churches will launch petition drives this weekend, organizers say, but Oct. 2 is the primary kickoff for a campaign to gather the necessary names to send the measure to the Legislature.

Opponents of gay marriage need roughly 66,000 signatures by Thanksgiving; they want 120,000, to have enough if some are disqualified.

Churches are hardly the only settings in which those pushing to ban gay marriages will collect signatures, but the broad support of the effort by different Christian denominations provides access to a significant bloc of potential signers.

The four Catholic bishops of Massachusetts have sent or will send letters to parishioners urging them to back the signature drive.

''As faithful citizens, we have a moral obligation to defend the truth, no matter how counter-cultural or unappreciated our convictions might be," Bishop George W. Coleman of Fall River wrote to parishioners in a Sept. 12 letter. ''The time is upon us to take a stand and to act, lovingly but firmly, to restore and defend the truth about marriage."

Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley is expected to distribute his letter to parishioners as soon as this weekend.

Opponents of gay marriage, buoyed by the defeat in the Legislature last week of a separate 2006 measure that would have outlawed gay marriage but created civil unions, say they are confident but not looking too far ahead.

''As the football coaches say, you can't look too many games out. You've got a game now," said Edward F. Saunders Jr., executive director of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the lobbying organization of the four Massachusetts archdioceses. ''The main thrust of everything right now is, let's get the signatures and go from there."

To put the question to voters in 2008, proponents need to gather the signatures and then persuade 50 lawmakers in two sessions of the Legislature to approve it.

Other religious groups oppose the ban and support gay marriage. The Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry, a group of more than 600 clergy, congregations, and faith-based organizations from 21 different denominations, will be urging worshipers and clergy not to sign and support the ballot initiative, said Rabbi Devon Lerner, the group's director.

''We know that there are many clergy across the Commonwealth who are thinking about gathering signatures through their churches, and we are going to be appealing to them and urging them not to do that," Lerner said. ''I think they really don't understand . . . that a civil rights issue should not be put up for a popular vote."

Lerner said that many Catholics support marriage equality, and that the coalition hopes they will spread that message to family members, friends, and fellow churchgoers. ''The bottom line is this is about real people and real relationships, and it's not about a definition of marriage," Lerner said.

But opponents of gay marriage are hoping their organized approach next month will garner a huge number of signers on one day. Larry Cirignano, executive director of the lay group Catholic Citizenship, said he expects the bulk of the signatures will be collected by then.

Cirignano said that the current bid to ban gay marriage is far more sophisticated and thorough than a similar but unsuccessful effort four years ago.

''If it's that organized and that well-blessed by the bishops . . . I think we're light years ahead of where they were last time," said Cirignano, who will travel to a Protestant church in Lenox on Thursday to train people on signature-gathering.

Cirignano acknowledged, though, that there are many unknowns. First, advocates of gay rights have said they are considering conducting what they call ''truth-squadding," in which activists shadow signature-gatherers and try to persuade people not to sign. And the group Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders is planning a court challenge to the decision this month by Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly to certify the 2008 ballot question.

However, Cirignano said, ''I see the groundswell coming along pretty nicely."

''We have a high level of confidence, and it's going to be a fun time," said Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, a group leading the initiative effort. ''It will energize our base. . . . Our strategy is to let the people vote."

That's what motivated Michael Conti Mica, a 20-year-old premed student at Boston University, to get involved in the signature-collection effort. Conti Mica would not say what his beliefs are on gay marriage, but said he's firm in his conviction that voters should have a direct say on the issue. ''I felt there needs to be an end to the ambiguity," said Conti Mica, who will help collect names at supermarkets, post offices, and other sites in Boston and Brookline. ''I think we should know what the citizens of Massachusetts want, and I think that's the fair, democratic way of doing things."

Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com.