For new governor, divisive issues loom
Debate ahead on same-sex marriage
In the days and months after Massachusetts elects a new governor, the social issue that made national headlines -- gay marriage -- is likely to return to the Beacon Hill agenda.
Lawmakers are set to take up a proposed ban on Nov. 9, two days after the election. If 50 lawmakers approve it, they would face pressure to take it up again in the coming year to consider its placement on the November 2008 ballot as a constitutional amendment.
The debate presents an opportunity for the governor-elect to use his or her election to influence the vote even before taking office, advocates on both sides of the issue say.
``The bully pulpit role is very significant," said Arline Isaacson, cochair of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus. ``But just as important is the role they play in helping us garner votes within the Legislature on this issue and others."
Opponents of gay marriage say they also want the governor-elect to speak out on the proposed amendment, and to call the Legislature back into session to vote on the amendment if lawmakers fail to act on the measure in November.
``The governor, by the constitution, is given a leadership role in this issue and he does have a bully pulpit," said Kristian M. Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute. ``Even though he or she may be of a different party than the majority, they certainly have a key role to play."
To pass, the amendment needs the support of 50 lawmakers this year and during the next legislative session, in 2007 and 2008, before it could head to the voters for consideration on the November 2008 ballot.
Gay rights advocates also want the next governor to push for a repeal of a 1913 state law that Governor Mitt Romney used to block residents of states that prohibit gay marriage from marrying in Massachusetts. In March, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the law as constitutional, a blow to gay rights advocates.
``We're at such a critical point around lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in this country," said Lee Swislow, executive director of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, a Boston-based gay rights organization. ``Massachusetts has been a leader. And I think continuing to be a leader is absolutely critical."
Gay rights are one of at least a half-dozen hot-button social issues, involving deeply held religious, political, and social beliefs, facing the new governor. The other issues facing battles on Beacon Hill include gambling, immigration, and abstinence education programs in public schools.
Advocates say the next governor could spur the biggest change on the issue of gambling, as the state faces increasing pressure to win back the gambling revenues that residents are spending in Connecticut and other states with casinos.
Earlier this year, a measure to allow slot machines at the state's racetracks passed the Senate and died in the House. But some lawmakers believe there are enough votes for it to pass, if the next governor makes the issue a priority.
``If you had a governor stumping for it, especially a Democratic governor, that may tip the scales among those that are on the fence," said state Treasurer Timothy Cahill, a Democrat who said he opposes expanded gambling because it would hurt the Massachusetts State Lottery, which his office oversees.
Census figures have made clear that immigration will continue to fuel debate on Beacon Hill. Recent population figures have shown that even as many residents have left Massachusetts for other states, immigrants have arrived in increasing numbers, keeping the state's population from plummeting dramatically.
The next governor will have the opportunity to continue, or revoke, an agreement the Romney administration has been seeking with the federal agreement that would allow the State Police to arrest undocumented immigrants who are in Massachusetts illegally.
Also certain to resurface in the Legislature is a bill that would provide in-state tuition rates at public colleges to undocumented immigrants.
Lawmakers approved the tuition measure last year, but Romney vetoed it and an attempted override failed in the House in January. But the next governor could push the Legislature to approve the measure again.
With the national debate over immigration more charged than in recent years, immigrant advocates say they will be looking for the new governor to set a tone that is civil and that makes it plain immigrants are welcome in Massachusetts.
``Immigration isn't as simple as legal or illegal," said Ali Noorani, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigration and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, a Boston-based immigrant rights group. ``What is their approach to the immigrant community? Are they going to stand up for immigrants or scapegoat them as political targets?"
Advocates for tougher immigration policies say the next governor could revoke nonessential services for undocumented immigrants, and work to defeat the in-state tuition bill.
``We promote what we call the disincentive to come here," said state Representative Marie J. Parente, a Milford Democrat who is a vocal critic of unchecked illegal immigration.
Among the other social issues, abortion rights presents a more complicated set of questions for the next governor. With the Legislature unlikely to pass sweeping calls to restrict abortion, action is likely to focus on measures to fund stem-cell research and expand the so-called ``buffer zones" intended to keep protesters and others away from women's health clinics that offer abortions.
``I see this state as being very stuck on this issue right now," said Marie H. Sturgis, executive director of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, noting that matters other than abortion have drawn Beacon Hill's attention. ``I think same-sex marriage is taking front-and-center in terms of social issues and that's put us on the back burner, in spite of the fact that we've introduced some wonderful bills."
Romney pledged to not change the state's abortion laws, which some abortion rights advocates interpreted as a sign he supported their position. He has since declared himself an abortion opponent, and the abortion rights advocates now say they want the next governor to speak out on the issue boldly.
``We'll be turning to the governor to be playing a leadership role, to be sure access to services are available to women in the state," said Melissa Kogut, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts.
The next governor will also face pressure to address a Romney administration program that funnels about $800,000 annually into abstinence-only sex education lessons in public schools.
Past governors had spent the money on media campaigns that urged teenagers to wait before having sex, but Romney called the policy ineffective and expanded the campaign into the schools. 