Murray vows vote on gay marriage
Senate president looks to defeat ban
Senate President Therese Murray, who supported an effort last fall to kill a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage without a vote, said yesterday that she will use her power as the new leader of the Senate and of the Constitutional Convention to ensure that lawmakers take an up-or-down vote on the amendment.
Murray, a strong supporter of same-sex unions, said she will continue to help round up votes to defeat the marriage ban but will oppose any move to bury the proposed amendment with parliamentary tactics.
"My vote is going to be just what it was the last time, but I am not going to move to adjourn," Murray said, speaking with reporters on her way into a Senate session a day after she was elected to succeed Robert E. Travaglini as Senate leader. "I will call for a vote, and I will try to help the advocates get the votes that they need. . . . I think it's important that we vote."
Murray's statement stands in sharp contrast to the vote she took at a Constitutional Convention in November, when she backed a recess motion designed to kill the proposal by keeping it from moving to the 2007-2008 legislative session for a final vote.
Two months later, in the waning moments of the legislative session, the amendment crossed its first hurdle when it won the support of 62 representatives and senators, 12 more than required for approval, after Travaglini, an opponent of same-sex marriage, steered the measure to a quick vote.
The Legislature's next Constitutional Convention is expected to determine the fate of the petition to end same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, which became the only state in the nation to sanction gay marriages after a Supreme Judicial Court decision in 2003. The petition would die if no vote is taken on the proposal in this legislative session.
Gay rights activists said that Murray's statement yesterday is consistent with their current strategy, which is to defeat the amendment outright, rather than resorting to legislative maneuvers.
"Our goal is to win this on the merits of the issue," said Arline Isaacson, cochairwoman of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus. "We would love to defeat this mean-spirited amendment by denying them the 50 votes they need, and we are working very hard to do just that."
This new strategy reflects the reality that gay rights leaders can no longer muster the majority of legislators needed to block a vote on the measure.
In November, Murray voted with same-sex marriage proponents to delay the Constitutional Convention until Jan. 2, when they hoped to run out the clock and defeat the petition with parliamentary tactics, rather than a direct vote. But in January, after the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the Massachusetts Constitution requires lawmakers to vote on citizen-sponsored petitions, many gay marriage supporters in the Legislature backed away from any move to prevent a vote.
Kris Mineau -- president of the Massachusetts Family Institute -- which led the petition drive to put the amendment on the ballot, said he found Murray's comments encouraging. He said her statement reflects a realization that her role as Senate president requires her to be even-handed and to make sure a vote is taken on the issue.
"We did not know where she would stand, until she made this [statement]," Mineau said. "I feel she is really stepping up to her total responsibilities as president of the Senate and not just to her own constituents, recognizing that she bears the responsibility that requirements of the constitution are met."
No date has been set for the next Constitutional Convention. Lawmakers who are working to defeat the amendment say that the convention, a joint session of the House and Senate, will convene when they are confident they have the votes to defeat it. As Senate president, Murray has the authority to convene the session.
Advocates of gay marriage say Murray's election as Senate president gives them a decided advantage as they work to win over eight of the 57 current lawmakers who support the proposed amendment. Her ability to control much of the convention's agenda, including when it is convened and the flow of debate, will give them a strong advantage.
Gay activists and their supporters also point out that now, for the first time, they can rely on Governor Deval Patrick, Murray, and House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi. Until this year, they had only DiMasi's support. All three are working with them to lobby opponents in the Legislature to change their votes.
Marc Solomon -- campaign director of MassEquality, the political arm of the gay marriage forces -- said his organization is working on a pool of more than 20 legislators who the group feels could potentially switch position.
"We continue to show that, electorally, this is the smart vote, not the risky one," Solomon said.
MassEquality has 13 field organizers working around the state, targeting legislative districts that the group feels could yield the votes to defeat the measure.
But champions of the amendment, while recognizing they are facing a strong lobbying effort from united leadership on Beacon Hill, say they are confident that they are holding their ground. 