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GAY MARRIAGE
Forces look toward 2008
BY DEIRDRE FULTON
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Before the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention (Con Con) even got off the ground Wednesday, advocates on both sides of the gay-marriage debate agreed that the Travaglini-Lees amendment, which would ban gay marriage in the Bay State and establish civil unions, was dead in the water. There was little chance that the amendment, introduced 18 months ago at the 2004 Con Con, would be voted through, or end up on the 2006 ballot. But in the days leading up to the convention, both sides were aware of the real story. At a press conference on Tuesday, gay-marriage foes eagerly invoked September 21, when anti-gay-marriage forces will begin collecting signatures to get another, harsher amendment on the ballot in 2008. This one, backed by the conservative Massachusetts Family Institute, Massachusetts Catholic Conference, and Governor Mitt Romney, would ban gay marriage without introducing civil unions. If they gather enough signatures to send their amendment to the legislature, gay-marriage opponents need just 51 votes to push it through (as opposed to the 101 needed on Wednesday). Meanwhile, at a rally last Monday, pro-gay-marriage legislators and activists gathered to remind their supporters that the fight is not over. "We will win this week, but we have another battle around the corner," said Senate president pro tempore Stanley Rosenberg (D-Northampton). "Now we have to strive for a super-super majority." For updated news on the gay-marriage debate and the Con Con, go to BostonPhoenix.com.
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