A battle just begun for both supporters, foes
The opponents come face to face on Beacon Hill
A few minutes after lawmakers voted to ban gay marriage in Massachusetts, a man who identified himself as Chauncy Chance rollerbladed around in front of the State House dressed in only a white hard hat, a Patrick Swayze T-shirt, and cutoff jean shorts.
"It's sad to see people are so hateful. This is who I am," said Chance, a musician from Jamaica Plain, blading past a man holding a sign that read: "Homosexuals Are Possessed by Demons."
"Get some treatment, honey," a woman told Chance.
"I go to the Fenway Health Center!" he yelled back.
Outside the State House, opponents on each side of the same-sex marriage debate came face to face for another day of protesting and, in some cases, heckling.
The steady beat of a drum and chants of "we're still here!" echoed in the frosty night air on Beacon Hill, as the views of gay marriage supporters clashed with a number of Christian and antigay marriage groups.
"It's terribly wrong to think that God would be pleased," said another man, who identified himself as a pastor from Lawrence. "Whether you want to call it `civil,' it's not holy. If we repent, God will heal us. If we recognize gay marriage, there will be more attacks on this country, chemical, biological, terrorist."
Glen Collins arrived earlier in the day, toting a 15-foot high likeness of House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran. The papier-mache figure, which he constructed with his parents, was clothed in a judge's black robe. The purple-haired 16-year-old said the Legislature has no right to decide who cannot marry, because, he said, "I'm pretty sure 90 percent of them aren't gay."
"They're voting on the lives of people; it's a personal issue," said Collins, a home-schooled student from Jamaica Plain. "If they knew this fight from the other side of the spectrum, they'd understand. If someone told them they can't love their wife because it's morally wrong, they'd understand."
Susan Gallagher, who identified herself as a health care worker from the South Shore, shook a large sign reading "No Civil Rights for Sodomites" at gay marriage supporters leaving the State House and added a few derogatory words.
Gallagher said she wasn't pleased with the Legislature's decision. The best way to solve the problem? "Fire the legislators," she said.
"We don't have any statesmen," Gallagher said. "John Quincy Adams, John Adams -- they knew how to lead people down a moral path. The majority is usually wrong. This country was formed on godly principles. God is written all over this constitution."
Deborah Haber, an administrative assistant at Children's Hospital, who came from Somerville where she and her partner raise their 18-month-old daughter, said she wants to see "a lot more activism" from gay marriage supporters in the coming weeks and for those in favor but inactive to write their legislators.
"The decision makes me very sad," Haber said. "And the fact of how excruciating it's been -- it's never going to get through the Legislature. Brown v. Board of Education showed up that separate was not equal, yet here we are 40 years later. We're a fact of life that's not going away."
Senator Jarrett T. Barrios, a Cambridge Democrat who is openly gay, talked to reporters on the steps of the State House after the decision was issued.
"No governor, no religious bigots, no speaker of the House, no Senate president will be able to take away our right on May 17," Barrios said. Nearby, gay rights supporters applauded, while those opposed to gay marriage shouted, "Please turn to Jesus."
"I want you all to know -- Phil Travis, Governor Romney, the gentlemen with signs out there -- we are seeing a sea change because of all of you, " Barrios said. "We are part of Massachusetts, too. In my Bible, it says love thy neighbor. We've got a long fight ahead of us." 