As I’ve noted in these pages before, I remain very conflicted about the politics of opting for gay marriage as opposed to civil unions. As I’ve also told you, my feelings and thoughts about this issue have moved a lot, even in the last few weeks.
But set aside for a moment what I think.
A group called Massequality is taking up the fight for gay marriage within the state of Massachusetts. Given the standing Massachusetts Supreme Court decision and the unlikelihood of a federal constitutional amendment actually getting enacted, that means that to make gay marriage a reality in the state (and not just a brief blip) supporters of gay marriage will have to prevent the state from amending its own constitution to overturn that court decision.
In Massachusetts, to amend the constitution the amendment needs to be approved in two consecutive joint legislative sessions and then voted on in a statewide referendum.
The state legislature will try to act on this for the first time on March 11th, i.e., next Thursday. Given what I just described above, the soonest the court ruling could be overturned is in 2006.
But if supporters of gay marriage can defeat that amendment in this session, they’ll gain another two years before gay marriage can be banned in the state and likely go a long way to making it permanent.
That’s what Massequality is trying to accomplish. March 11th is less than a week away. If you care about this issue, they need your support right now. Visit the site.
