Feb 13, 2004  |  By: JOE CREA  | COMMENTS     

BOSTON – Gay marriage advocates won at least a temporary victory late Thursday night as the Massachusetts Legislature adjourned after proponents of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage failed to secure the necessary votes. Lawmakers are set to take up the issue again on March 11.

Same-sex marriage supporters lining the corridors of the state’s capital rejoiced and sang “God Bless America” while their opponents chanted, "we want a vote” as the Legislature adjourned at midnight.

Supporters of the gay marriage amendment failed to secure a majority to pass any of the four proposed measures. Same-sex marriage advocates had staged a filibuster shortly after 10 p.m. designed to delay the proceedings until the constitutional convention’s midnight deadline.

Opponents of gay marriage stormed out of the capital and took issue with Senate President Robert E. Travaglini (D-Suffolk), saying that he used his powers to block the vote by refusing to allow proponents of the amendment to speak.

“I'm frustrated and I blame the Senate president," Rep. David Nangle (D-Lowell) told the Associated Press. “This was a terrible injustice to the citizens of the commonwealth and we'll be back to fight another day.”
And House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran (D-Suffolk), an ardent opponent of gay marriage, said in a statement that despite last night’s filibuster, “our efforts will continue."

“It has been a struggle for the members, as it is for every citizen," Finneran said. “No one should expect that decisions of this magnitude would be made casually or quickly.”

Despite the relief expressed by many gay marriage supporters, Arline Isaacson, co-chair of the Massachusetts Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus, told the Boston Herald that this is just the first step in defeating a marriage ban.

“We've won tonight in that we've dodged the bullets," she said. “We have a very hard road ahead of us. It's an uphill fight and, unfortunately, it's likely we won't prevail, we'll fight as long as we can."

Lawmakers will revisit the issue on March 11 and some have hinted that Republican Gov. Mitt Romney and Finneran will support legislative attempts to block the issuance of gay marriage licenses on May 17, a date set by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which ruled last November in Goodridge vs. Dept. of Public Health that the state must issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

Isaacson told the Boston Herald that she fears, “at the end of the day, they will put something on the ballot. ... They are going to turn us into second-class citizens.”

Thursday’s debate was filled with many impassioned speeches on both sides of the aisle.

Travis said the amendment “tells the people of Massachusetts what marriage is.”

“We do love everyone equally. We don't pick on people because of different color or preference of sex. That has never been an issue in this debate,” Travis said.

And Sen. Jarrett T. Barrios (D-Cambridge), who is gay, made an emotional plea yesterday saying that the proposed amendment would adversely affect his family.

"Don't kid yourself that a ban on same-sex marriage will not hurt your gay and lesbian friends, relatives and colleagues," he told the convention. "It will. Believe me, it will."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.