Marriage Amendment in Mass?

Will it fail? Or will your state stand up for your beliefs and ensure equal rights for all Americans.

I am under the impression that Massachusetts will be voting on this bill in the future. Am I correct in saying that?

Thanks,
BamaLefty

I believe it takes votes by the General Court in two successive sessions (2005 & 2006), then ratification by the citizens.

I say don't fuck with John Adam's Constitution.

I figured that Mass would be the only state with a damn backbone on this issue.

It has been approved by one ConCon session ot the General Assembly, and needs to pass a second before it can go on the ballot next year.

By that time, marriage will have been a reality for more than 2 years, and the state will hopefully not have broken off from the world and spun into space...Hell, it won't even have drifted out to sea.

People will see that their own lives, and the lives of their frinds and neighbors have not changed one bit because homosexual couples have made legal commitments to each other.

Many will wonder what all the fuss was about, and be less willing to change the state constitution to write in discrimination.

Of course, many will vote their biases and still feel threatened by this....

It is really hard to predict.

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That question takes a little time to answer . . . so, if you want to take the time and read how and what is going on . . . here's some explanatory answers and links:

1.) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=158&topic_id=2626&mesg_id=2626

Plus, there's been a shift in the politics of the Massachusetts legislature since the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention in February/March 2004. Left. Yes, to the left. Gone are the social conservatives in powerful positions. Replaced by social liberals in powerful positions. Those now in power, both the new Massachusetts House Speaker and the Massachusetts Senate President, seem not to want the required 2nd Massachusetts Constitutional Convention convened in 2005 on this same-sex marriage issue.

And, there's been more, yes more, legislatures added that favor not amending the Massachusetts constitution.

However, all that said and done, it's a narrow margin. Very narrow. We all wait to see what happens next. After all, it's only April. There's many more months before the state legislature calls it quits for this year.

In addition, Ron Crews, ex-Georgia state senator, proponent of Creationism in Georgia schools, fundie preacher, anti-gay hate-spewer, head of the Massachusetts Family Institute, Inc. and other like fundie organizations around the country, Massachusetts statehouse lobbyist for gay-bashing causes, loser-by-a-huge-margin-in-the-recent-election of U.S. congressional seat in Worcester, Massachusetts, is spewing about a "ballot initiative."

2.) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=158x3846#3875




Same-sex supporters, front steps of the Massachusetts Statehouse,
during the March, 2004 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention

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Once again Mass leads the way.

Stuck in 'Bama...

I am from Massachusetts, lived most of my life in central Mass. Born and raised in Southbridge, last lived in Worcester. I'm usually back in state for holidays and visiting friends at least once a year. I don't know what the groundswell of public opinion on this issue is. I do know this; I am damn proud of my home state for leading the way on this issue.

I'm not gay. I'm playing for wrong team to be lesbian. It's easy to get involved in an issue when you are protecting your own rights. But stepping up to the plate and leading the way for the whole country on an unpopular issue, and being a champion for the rights of others is something to be proud of. Reminds me of a couple of young politicians from Massachusetts defying the blacklists during the McCarthy era to watch movies made by people who refused to testify about the activities of their associates.

Here's hoping the fear mongers and religious extremists don't find the support they need. New England Yankees had the guts to stand up to the mightiest army on the planet once, that's the stuff we're made of. Stand fast on this issue Massachusetts.

Suprisingly, for those who are not familiar with Massachusetts, we are a rather conservative state. We ar enot the wacked out place that the radical right makes us out to be. We are conservative in that we believe in personal space and privacy. We don't go knocking on our neighbors doors. We call first. I would hazard a guess that most who are "against" marriage equality are also against government intrusion. The freaks at the MFI and Ron Crews et al are the ones with the real issues. Oh, and they aren't from Massachusetts. Carpetbaggers.