MA State Sen. candidate avoids marriage equality question

Hassan Williams refused to state his position on same-sex marriage at a recent debate.

Democrat candidate for State Senate Hassan Williams refused to state his position on same-sex marriage at an Aug. 25 debate with incumbent Sonia Chang-D�az, hosted by JP Progressives. His apparent unwillingness to discuss marriage equality has come under fire both from local activists and from his opponent.

"I believe in bringing people together and not dividing them. So I'm not going to allow you to put me in a box in that respect," Williams told the debate moderator after being asked where he stands on the issue of same-sex marriage. The candidate was then asked how he would vote if Massachusetts' marriage equality law were challenged, and answered, "When we get to that point, that's when we can have that conversation."

Upon being further pressed to state his opinion of the state's tradition of marriage equality, Williams said, "I'm not going to be boxed in. I refuse to be boxed in. I refuse to have division."

Williams' opponent, incumbent Sonia Chang-D�az, is finishing her first term as State Senator representing the 2nd Suffolk District -- formerly represented by Dianne Wilkerson -- and recalled the JP Progressives debate in an interview with Bay Windows. "It certainly is natural and understandable for voters to want to know where candidates stand on the issues so they can make informed decisions when they go to the polls," she said, calling same-sex marriage "one of the civil rights issues of our time."

"I'm very proud to have been involved in the fight for marriage equality over the past several years," said the Senator, who referred to herself a "strong supporter" of same-sex marriage.

Chang-D�az said that Williams' refusal to discuss marriage equality may reflect his interpretation of the position of State Senator. "I think it reflects maybe a little bit of a difference in the philosophy about the job. I believe that it is part of the core responsibilities of a legislator to take positions on things," Chang-D�az told Bay Windows. "[That] shouldn't mean that you have to always opine at every moment on everything. ...But I think there's a time and place to draw a line. And that is a core part of being a legislator. You are called on a regular basis to draw a line."

Kara Suffredini, Executive Director of MassEquality, said that Williams' refusal to state his position on marriage equality indicates more than one difference between Williams and Chang-D�az. "The real difference between these two candidates is that one is inclusive and the other is divisive," Suffredini told Bay Windows. "Having a position by virtue of not having a position -- that is very divisive in a community that's been celebrating marriage equality for over six years."

Suffredini said that the LGBT advocacy organization is taking a critical stance on Williams' dodging of the marriage equality question. "You don't get elected into office in Massachusetts by playing games with people's fundamental rights," Suffredini said. "Although [Williams] says that he wants to bring people together and he wants to have conversations...he doesn't want to have a conversation on this issue."

MassEquality has formally endorsed Chang-D�az in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary "because she's a proven supporter of equality," Suffredini said. "Hopefully people will see that."

Williams "has to take a position," Suffredini urged. "He can't continue to dodge the ball and expect people to give him a pass. This is a state where families have been celebrating marriage equality for six years, and it's brought nothing but good things to the Commonwealth."

According to Chang-D�az, being "divisive" may not be such a bad thing for a legislator.

"When it comes to issues of civil rights, I think that there is a time and place to be divisive. You can call it divisive, but other people will call it taking a stand," Chang-D�az told Bay Windows. "I think that's something that fighters for civil rights throughout our country's history have understood."

Chang-D�az listed civil rights figures whose positions could have been considered "divisive."

"I think that if you look at Frederick Douglass, some of the things he had to say, a lot of people in this day and age would have called that divisive," she said. "If you look at Alice Paul and her fight for women's suffrage, a lot of people would have called that divisive, and, in fact, they were.

"People took sides. Same thing with Martin Luther King, Jr., with Malcom X, same thing with Barney Frank, you name it. And that's part of the consequences of taking a stand."

Bay Windows' calls and e-mails for comment from Hassan Williams and his campaign were not returned prior to press time.