Bigotry strolls in the front door at churches this Sunday

Gay-nuptial foes hire Calif. consulting firm
Petition efforts raise eyebrows

By Scott Helman and Frank Phillips, Boston Globe Staff | September 30, 2005

Opponents of gay marriage, while looking ahead to a weekend of signature-gathering, have hired a California political consulting firm that's a veteran of conservative causes. The effort would be to help collect petitions to get a proposed ban on same-sex marriage on the 2008 ballot.

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Opponents of gay marriage plan to gather thousands of signatures this weekend at ''Protect Marriage Sunday," a coordinated effort by the Roman Catholic Church, Protestant congregations, and others to get as many names they can Sunday at worship services throughout Massachusetts.

The petition drive is in full force in places, and some Massachusetts residents are reporting what they're calling deceptive practices by signature-gatherers.

Lara Szent-Gyorgyi said she was returning items Saturday at Wal-Mart in Natick when she noticed someone outside the store gathering names for a separate ballot initiative, one that would allow the sale of wine in supermarkets. Szent-Gyorgyi said she had signed, and had then been asked to sign a few other petitions, but she said she had not been told what they were for. One was the gay-marriage petition.