Thursday, July 18,2002
Massachusetts legislature kills same-sex marriage ban amendment
A story published today by the Milford Daily News reports that Massachusetts state lawmakers voted yesterday to scuttle a move to outlaw same-sex marriage and deny health benefits to same-sex partners.
By a vote of 137 to 53, members of the House and Senate agreed to adjourn yesterday's Constitutional Convention without voting the merits of the proposed ballot initiative.
The amendment's backers accused Senate President Thomas Birmingham, who presided over the joint session, of employing "parliamentary tricks" to ensure the ballot initiative's demise.
The amendment, sponsored by the Waltham-based Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage, needed support from at least 25 percent of the Legislature in consecutive years before the issue could make it onto the ballot.
But Birmingham said the adjournment vote guarantees that the amendment's supporters are "done" for this year and would have to start from scratch.
Some of those who voted against adjourning, including state Sen. David Magnani, D-Framingham, said they also would have voted against the amendment itself.
Magnani, a supporter of Birmingham's gubernatorial campaign, said he believes the Senate president's move was a "matter of conscience" and not an election-year ploy.
The amendment would legally define marriage in Massachusetts to a "union of one man and one woman."
Critics claim the amendment would block same-sex couples from receiving health coverage and other benefits and would prevent same-sex couples from visiting their partners in the hospitals during a medical emergency.
"I don't agree with having a constitutional amendment to consider something that limits people's freedoms," said state Rep. Deborah Blumer, D-Framingham.
State Sen. Cheryl Jacques, a Needham Democrat who is raising twins with her domestic partner, said the Legislature properly exercised its role as a "check and balance" over the ballot process.
"I think it was a proud day for Massachusetts," she added. "We are writing the next chapter in the book of civil rights here in the commonwealth."
