Some wonder, others welcome decision

As he waited for his next fare at Downtown Crossing yesterday afternoon, Newton, a 60-year-old Lynn native, said he does not want children to be raised by "two men, kissing and hugging." "I'd say the average person is against it, even though they don't have the courage to say so," Newton said. "It's just too radical a move."

At lunch counters and laundromats, at shopping malls and business meetings from Somerville to Braintree yesterday, people pondered the ramifications of the Supreme Judicial Court's decision that gays and lesbians are entitled to wed under the state's constitution. Some debated whether the future holds images of men sending their husbands off to war or of women, hand in hand, marrying at City Hall. Whether they approved of the ruling or not, many said it undoubtedly will alter the social fabric of communities across the Commonwealth.

"It's now going to be resolved, whether we like it or not," said North End resident Dennis Smith, a health care consultant lunching at Locke Ober. "In 30 years, they are going to laugh at us for even talking about this."

The 64-year-old Boston native and Irish Catholic contended the decision was just another chapter in the long struggle for civil rights and tolerance in the United States.

"I adopted a Chinese baby a few years ago," he said. "That never would have happened 30 years ago. Or if it did, I certainly wouldn't have talked about it."

Quincy resident Louis Cameron sounded a similar note, saying it will take a generation or so for Massachusetts residents to get used to the reality of same-sex marriage.

"You live what you are raised on," said the 20-year-old Curry College student, gripping a Gap bag as he waited for a bus outside South Shore Plaza. "The babies born today and tomorrow will be raised with it, so they'll see the difference."

Cameron is a liberal Catholic who believes that "if you're comfortable with what you believe in life, then the government shouldn't be able to tell you what you can or can't do." As for the Commonweath's image in the eyes of the nation, Cameron said, "Massachusetts is famous for a lot of infamous things."

Others his age are not so quick to accept same-sex marriage, though."I have mixed feelings about it," said 20-year-old Katie Barnes, who paused to think, her tongue fiddling with the stud piercing her bottom lip. "When I'm around people who have relationships with someone of the same sex, it makes me uncomfortable. But I guess I'd feel bad if the right got taken away."

The Somerville resident saw television news bulletins about the decision at midday as she washed her clothes at Mr. Clean, a Somerville Avenue laundromat.

"I have friends who are gay," she said. "I don't know whether I agree with it or not."

The court's decision did not sit well with Nivia Gomes, a Downtown Crossing flower vendor who emigrated from Cape Verde three years ago. The 36-year-old mother of two was shocked by the court's decision to allow same-sex marriage. "I don't think it's right," she said, nursing a cup of coffee at her stand as a co-worker nodded in agreement. "When you love somebody, you have to marry them and make a family. That's what this country needs. More kids."

The court ruled that during the next six months, state legislators can take action before the ruling takes effect. If any lawmaker takes a ride in his cab, Newton knows exactly what he'll tell them. "Let them have `significant others,' health insurance, whatever," Newton said. "But marriage. That's too sacred."

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.