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Choosing not to give their last names, Jessica (left) and Kate, both from Cambridge, Mass., embrace after Massachusetts lawmakers voted to kill a proposed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage at the Statehouse in Boston on June 14. The couple now plan to marry. (Photo by Stephan Savoia/AP)
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: JOSHUA LYNSEN COMMENTS
 
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offered their own reasons for doing so.
Sen. Gale Candaras (D), who voted last session to approve the measure, said she voted against it last week to protect established families and children.
“For me, what all this comes down to is this: Same-gendered couples are taxpaying, law-abiding citizens, who are important community contributors, well loved and well respected by their families, friends, neighbors and employers,” she said in a statement. “They deserve and are entitled to the same legal protections enjoyed by all other citizens of our state.”
Sen. Stan Rosenberg (D) agreed. He also said his vote was cast “to prevent creating three classes of families: heterosexual couples, same-sex couples allowed to marry since it was declared legal by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and same-sex couples who would not be allowed to marry if the amendment to the Constitution was approved by the voters.”
Many legislators, though, said they were motivated by a commitment to fairness and equality.
Democratic Reps. Will Brownsberger, David Linsky, Liz Malia, Ellen Story and Alice Wolf all told the Blade that reasoning was at the core of their decision.
Gov. Deval Patrick, whom legislators said lobbied fervently against the proposed amendment, supported such stances.
Malia, one of the state’s few openly gay or lesbian lawmakers, said Patrick publicly demonstrated his commitment to equality earlier this month when he became the state’s first sitting governor to march in Boston’s Gay Pride parade.
“I think it was an incredible boost for everybody,” she said. “He’s so consistently been up front and supportive and vocal and very clear where he stood — in support — that I think it gave people a lot of encouragement.”
Also supportive was U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whom Malia said helped frame the issue in calls to undecided legislators.
“I think it really was crucial on a national level for the leadership in the Democratic Party to take a position on this,” Malia said. “We’ve got to deal with the national health care crisis, and the war, and so many other issues, this really needed to be put in its place.”
Lawmakers were uncertain, though, whether last week’s vote would conclude discussion of same-sex marriage at the state legislature.
“I think this was the high-water mark for this particular movement,” Rice said. “They may try to come back, but I can’t imagine that the outcome would be<
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