Quincy rally for marriage equality draws 100 people

When Sgt. Adrian Gunn joined the Army National Guard eight years ago, he swore an oath to uphold and defend the Massachusetts Constitution, a document that he notes was written "with the intent of safeguarding the rights of every individual American citizen." Gunn, who also served eight years in the U.S. Army, said that that's why he'd rather not return home from an upcoming deployment to the Middle East to find Massachusetts in the process of trying to amend its constitution to ban marriage equality.

"I'm going over to Iraq in July and the thought that I could come home to a Commonwealth that ... is preparing to amend its constitution, to bring me back to a Commonwealth that's less free than the one I left behind, is deeply troubling to me," said the 35-year-old Quincy resident. He expressed hope that local legislators who will soon be voting on an anti-gay marriage amendment would vote against it. "I hope they do the right thing and I hope I come back to a Commonwealth with a constitution that I still feel proud defending."

Gunn was among a crowd of about 100 people who turned out at Quincy's Gilbert Memorial Park on May 30 for a vigil aimed at changing the minds of local legislators who do not support marriage equality. The legislature is expected to take a second and final vote on an anti-gay constitutional amendment at a June 14 constitutional convention (ConCon).

"Three out of our four legislators in Quincy have not supported equality to date," said Jerry Ringuette, a member of the group Quincy for Marriage Equality, referring to state Sen. Michael Morrissey and state Reps. Bruce Ayers and John Tobin. State Rep. Ron Mariano is the only member of the Quincy delegation who has supported marriage equality. Ringuette added that Gilbert Memorial Park, a well-groomed plot overlooking the Boston Harbor, was chosen for the early evening rally because Morrissey and Ayers "have to drive by this particular spot on their way home from work." Others apparently do, too: speakers were drowned out several times by the supportive horn toots of passing motorists.

With the exception of MassEquality Campaign Director Marc Solomon, the roster of speakers was comprised of locals, several of whom talked about the way in which the city has embraced marriage equality since the Goodridge decision took effect in May 2004. For instance, Michele Frost, who founded Quincy for Marriage Equality with her mother Kathleen, spoke about the unfounded anxiety with which she and her partner Mary Helen approached city hall officials when they sought a marriage license 18 months ago. "They were more interested in Shea, and her little curls and this and that than anything else," said Frost, referring to the couple's 2-year-old daughter. "And we left [having been] treated with a great deal of respect." Frost also praised the city's willingness last year to negotiate with United First Parish Church, a historic landmark in the heart of the city, when the Unitarian Universalist congregation wanted to unfurl a banner with a message of support for marriage equality across its fa?ade. Frost is a member of the church.

The vigil was part of an intense lobbying effort that has consumed marriage equality advocates in the last several months as they work to defeat the anti-gay constitutional amendment, which needs just 50 votes in order to be placed on the 2008 ballot. Quincy for Marriage Equality was formed just two weeks to organize local marriage equality supporters to pressure their legislators to vote down the amendment. The organization launched a website, QuincyforMarriageEquality.com, and has already posted a list of more than 200 supporters, including State Treasurer Tim Cahill, who lives in Quincy.

Earlier in the day, Ringuette and Frost met with Morrissey to discuss the issue. Though they came away with no commitment that he'd vote against the amendment on June 14, Ringuette was encouraged. "I felt encouraged in the way that he phrased [his choices] - you know, 'Do I listen to constituents who want to be able to vote on this issue or do I stand up and protect the rights of a minority?'" he recalled Morrissey saying. "Those are pretty strong words." Ringuette and Frost weren't the only ones working on Morrissey that day: Much to their delight, as they waited to meet with Morrissey, they encountered GLAD attorney Mary Bonauto, the architect of the Goodridge lawsuit, exiting the senator's office. "It was like a celebrity sighting," Frost laughed. Added Ringuette, "I gasped."

Solomon, who addressed the crowd as the sun set behind him, urged each of the vigil attendees to reach out to five people they know and ask that they contact anti-equality Quincy legislators to urge them to vote against the amendment. "Legislators can't have it both ways," Solomon told the crowd. They can't be for marriage equality and for a vote on this issue. If you vote to put this on the ballot you're voting or discrimination, plain and simple. And that's the message we need to get out to our legislators."