A legislative vote hangs in the balance

Senate President Robert E. Travaglini, ending weeks of silence about his intentions for today's special joint session of the Legislature, said yesterday that he plans for lawmakers to vote on every item on the agenda, including a proposed constitutional amendment to outlaw gay marriage in 2008.

His remarks, in a statement issued late in the day, appeared to address threats by some gay-marriage supporters to kill the proposed ban through a procedural tactic that would avoid a vote altogether. Travaglini also signaled that the gay-marriage measure may not come up today, because it is item number 20 on a packed agenda, raising the possibility that the Constitutional Convention will reconvene later this year.

Travaglini said that as presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention, he has a duty to allow debate, ``no matter how contentious the issue."

``It is my intention to bring all of the items on the calendar before the body for a vote," said Travaglini, who will host a meeting today at noon with Senate Democrats. ``However, each of the 20 items left on the calendar is likely to generate significant debate among the members, and we will see how far we get in the proceedings on Wednesday."

To make it onto the 2008 ballot, the proposed amendment needs the support of at least 50 legislators in both this and the next legislative session. A procedural tactic to put off the vote has been on the table largely because, according to both sides, gay-marriage opponents are likely to comfortably cross the 50-vote threshold.

Pressure has been mounting on Travaglini to hold an up-or-down vote on the proposed amendment, and it continued to build yesterday. Republicans in the House, led by minority leader Bradley H. Jones Jr., wrote to Travaglini and House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, urging that a vote be taken.

Jones of North Reading, writing on behalf of his GOP colleagues, urged the legislative leadership to permit a vote.

``That would be a grievous mistake," he wrote of plans by some legislators to prevent a vote.

``The thousands of citizens who signed the [ballot initiative] deserve to have their request thoughtfully and comprehensively debated by the General Court," he wrote.

The letter was the latest call from political and community leaders for the Legislature to take an up-or-down vote at the Constitutional Convention, which promises to draw scores of activists on both sides of the gay-marriage issue to the State House today.

Governor Mitt Romney, Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, and other opponents of same-sex marriage have publicly implored lawmakers to take the vote, as have many same-sex marriage supporters, including Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly and leading lawmakers in the House and Senate.

For advocates of same-sex marriage, a delay could be beneficial: The more time that goes by, they believe, the more accepting the public and legislators will be of gay marriage, which became legal in May 2004.

``We've seen enormous progress from when this issue started to be debated three years ago or so, but we still have some work to do," said Senator Stanley C. Rosenberg, an Amherst Democrat and supporter of same-sex marriage. ``So time is our friend."

It was unclear yesterday how soon Travaglini would schedule the convention to resume, but he can pick a date through the end of the calendar year.

``We are working maniacally to round up the votes, because, while we don't know when the vote will happen, we believe it will happen, and we have to prepare for it," said Arline Isaacson, cochairwoman of the Massachusetts Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus and a leading activist against the amendment.

Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute and a leading advocate for the ballot initiative, said he hopes that lawmakers take up the issue today.

``But if we have to gear up again for a later date, so be it," he said. ``We're in this thing for the long haul. They're not going to wear us down."

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