VICTORY! Anti-gay marriage amendment defeated in MA

In the June 14 constitutional convention, state lawmakers defeated the proposed amendment to the constitution that would have taken away the civil right to marry from same-sex couples. The final tally on the measure was 45 in favor and 151 against. The amendment needed just 50 votes to pass. The June 14 vote came just five months after the first vote by lawmakers on the amendment in which 62 lawmakers backed it.

Massachusetts Family Institute President Kris Mineau said immediately after the vote that he would call for an investigation into the tactics employed by the marriage equality side which resulted in so many vote switches. He also refused to rule out the possibility of mounting another ballot petition drive.

Earlier in the day, marriage advocates were predicting a swift vote on the measure and the buzz phrase repeated by lawmakers and lobbyists alike was "cautiously optimistic." When lawmakers filed into the House, the formerly boisterous crowd of mostly marriage equality advocates in Gardner Auditorium, where a video feed of the House chamber was broadcast, grew quiet. Senate President Therese Murray quickly called the constitutional convention to order. A motion to vote on the amendment was made and lawmakers began voting.

When State Sen. Gale Candaras of Springfield, who had previously voted in favor of the amendment voted against it, a deafening cheer went up from the crowd in the Gardner Auditorium. The same thing happened when state Sen. Michael Morrissey of Quincy likewise changed his vote to oppose the measure.

After the Senate voted via voice roll call, the House members took four minutes to vote by machine. Tension in the Gardner Auditorium and the press area outside the chamber was thick. Freshman state Rep. Sarah Peake of Provincetown said afterwards that tension was high even for lawmakers, who were unsure of what was going to happen even as they filed into the chamber.

Peake, who is openly lesbian, said that she sat next to Rep. Christine Canavan of Wakefield in the chamber. Canavan had previously backed the amendment. As Canavan went to vote, Peake said, "She banged me on the shoulder and said, 'Rep, watch this,' and she pushed the 'no' button."

"When I saw her finger hit that red button, it was momentous," Peake said. "I gave her a big hug and a kiss."

At a rally held immediately after the vote, Gov. Deval Patrick, who lobbied hard to defeat the amendment, cautioned marriage equality activists not to "gloat."

"This liberty is secure for today, but as someone once said, 'The price of liberty is constant vigilance,'" Patrick said.

He reminded the standing room only crowd in Nurses Hall that "healing" needed to begin between the two marriage camps. "The folks on the other side of this question are still our brothers and sisters," he said. "And we need them tomorrow and the next day and the day after that if we are together going to confront and solve the challenges facing us economically or in the public schools or on broken roads and bridges and a health care system we are trying to reinvent and a whole list of other issues on which we must come together."

The crowd that gathered outside the State House before the vote was reminiscent of the massive crowds that rallied during the 2004 ConCons when lawmakers first debated marriage rights after the Supreme Judicial Court had ruled that it was unconstitutional to prevent same-sex couples from marrying. The day began with a 7:30 a.m. rally outside St. Paul's Cathedral by the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry. Episcopal Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Thomas Shaw told the crowd that "As close as this vote is, it's not close in God's eyes."

After the rally, the clergy, decked out in clerical garb, made a dramatic procession across Boston Common to the State House, where their presence and lengthy parade silenced the VoteOnMarriage.org supporters gathered across the street from the State House.

As the morning progressed, more and more people gathered outside the State House. Both sides brought children to make their point. One child on the marriage equality side held a sign that read, "Children Support Gay Marriage." One on the pro-amendment side held a sign that read, "I Love My Mom and Dad."

Stan Griffith of Boston PFLAG said he was at the State House out of a "strong commitment to civil rights" and that he wanted all families in the Commonwealth to be protected by the law.

Sharon Petty from Mansfield stood outside the State House holding a green sign from VoteOnMarriage.org. "I want to vote. My sign says it all. I'm not being silent on this anymore," she said.

Shortly after 12:30 p.m., four of the five openly gay lawmakers at the State House came outside to address those rallying for marriage equality. State Rep. Carl Sciortino of Somerville thanked protesters for being at the State House. Peake told them that their presence gave lawmakers "strength."

State Rep. Liz Malia of Jamaica Plain promised the crowd that they would never give up the fight. "We're here. We're never going away, whether we win or lose today. We're never going away ... we're going to take our rightful place."

State Sen. Jarrett Barrios of Cambridge, who will resign his seat July 5 to become president of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, acknowledged that the issue was "more personal" for the four gay lawmakers than their colleagues. That said, he added, "But this is not just an issue for gays and lesbians, this is an issue for all of us in the Commonwealth."

Marty Rouse, field director for the Human Rights Campaign and the former Campaign Director for MassEquality was at the State House, as was National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman and Gill Foundation Director Pat Guerriero. Josh Friedes, who formerly worked for the Massachusetts Freedom To Marry Coalition and was an early marriage activist in the Bay State, who is currently working for marriage equality in Washington state, flew in for the ConCon. Fifth Congressional District candidate Nikki Tsongas roamed the halls of the State House along with Ed O'Reilly, who is challenging U.S. Sen. John Kerry.