Text of compromise offered by Travaglini
The text of an amendment supported by Senate President Robert E. Travaglini and Senate Republican leader Brian P. Lees was under consideration by lawmakers yesterday.
Section 1. It being the public policy of this Commonwealth to protect the unique relationship of marriage, only the union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Massachusetts.
Section 2. The people of the Commonwealth adopt this Article to protect the unique relationship of marriage. The people also wish to establish civil unions to provide to same-sex couples all the benefits, protections, rights and responsibilities under state law as are granted to spouses in a marriage, while recognizing that under present federal law same-sex couples in civil unions will be denied federal benefits available to married couples.
Section 3. Two persons of the same sex shall have the right to form a civil union if they meet the requirements set forth by law for marriage between a man and a woman. All laws applicable to marriage, including laws that refer to a federal law and laws relating to dissolution of marriages, shall also apply to civil unions. Spouses in a civil union shall have all the same benefits, protections, rights and responsibilities under law as are granted to spouses in a marriage. As used in this section, "law" means any law of the Commonwealth, or of any of its political subdivisions, or of any entity established to serve a public purpose, whether defined by statute, agency or court rule or regulation, ordinance, by-law, policy, common law or other source of civil law.
The appropriate agencies of the executive department shall take all the necessary measures to provide civil union license forms as required by the laws governing equivalent marriage forms and to provide for the maintenance of records of all civil unions and the dissolution thereof. The procedures under law for issuing a marriage license shall apply to issuing a civil union license.
Section 4. Persons of the same sex who married before the effective date of this Article shall be considered instead to have formed a civil union under section 3.
