Sides gear up for gay-marriage vote

State lawmakers delayed a vote yesterday on a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage until at least June 14.

The House and Senate met in a Constitutional Convention, but recessed without taking a vote on the amendment, which needs their approval to earn a spot on the ballot in 2008.

Senate President Therese Murray said the next session will take place June 14, but it was unclear yesterday whether a vote will take place on that date. Murray has said that she intends to put the measure before the Legislature for an up-or-down vote, rather than allowing opponents to use procedural maneuvers to defeat it.

Gay-rights advocates, with the help of legislative leaders and Governor Deval Patrick, have been lobbying legislators to switch their votes and defeat the amendment, which was approved in January with the support of 62 legislators, 12 more than necessary.

Opponents of the ban estimate that they are still eight votes short.

Kris Mineau -- president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, which led the petition drive to put the amendment on the ballot -- said he hadn't expected a vote yesterday, but is hoping for one in June. "The lines are clearly drawn," said Mineau. "We're confident our votes will hold."

Supporters of same-sex marriage said privately that they believe that legislative leaders will have an easier time persuading some lawmakers to switch their votes during the give-and-take of June budget negotiations, when lawmakers traditionally seek money for pet projects.

They say that several legislators are reconsidering their views. "They're struggling in their hearts and minds and in their politics," said Arline Isaacson, cochair woman of the Massachusetts Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus. "Of the 57 legislators against us, only a handful are hopeless. The others might reconsider the vote. They staked out their position years ago, and increasingly they're faced with new information that's making them question their previous views. . . . They're meeting more and more gay families in their districts, or they meet more straight constituents who support us."

Under the state constitution, the amendment must receive the support of one-quarter of the 200 state representatives and senators in two consecutive legislative sessions to be placed on the November 2008 ballot.

Massachusetts became the only state in the nation to sanction same-sex marriage after a 2003 Supreme Judicial Court decision. Such marriages became legal in May 2004.

Last November, Murray voted with same-sex marriage supporters to delay the Constitutional Convention until Jan. 2, when they hoped to defeat the amendment through parliamentary maneuvers and let the legislative session run out. But after the high court ruled that the constitution requires lawmakers to vote on citizen- sponsored petitions, many backed down and agreed to put the measure to a vote.

Mineau said he is hopeful that Murray will order a vote next month. "It's a very reasonable date for both sides," he said. "We have a high level of expectation. Murray has been forthright in her position there must be a vote."

He said supporters of the amendment have picked up a few new votes, though he wouldn't name the lawmakers. He said that advocates of same-sex marriage have already targeted those individuals and added, "I don't need to help them."