NEWS Massachusetts awaits vote on gay marriage February 12, 2004 BOSTON — Massachusetts lawmakers, thrust into the center of the national debate over gay rights by a landmark court ruling, convened Wednesday to consider rewriting the state constitution to ban same-sex marriages. The proposed amendment was near the bottom of the agenda, but lawmakers, recognizing the importance of the vote, suspended the rules to take the issue up immediately. Senate President Robert Travaglini, who is presiding over the joint session of the House and Senate, said the debate could go late into the night. People from across the country swarmed into the normally sedate Statehouse amid tight security and a throng of reporters. Impromptu rallies erupted outside the building, while inside lawmakers and advocacy groups held last-minute news conferences to champion their cause. Hundreds of people lined both sides of the street outside the Statehouse in bright sunlight and a chilly wind, holding signs, waving American flags and rainbow flags and eliciting honks from passing cars. The chants, which broke out spontaneously in pockets up and down the street, included, "Hey hey, ho ho homophobia's got to go." Others chanted, "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." The debate began with consideration of an unexpected amendment, proposed at the last minute by House Speaker Thomas Finneran, that would ban gay marriage but allow the Legislature to adopt civil unions. Senate leaders have proposed their own amendment that also would establish civil unions - but would make them automatically legal in Massachusetts in November 2006, the earliest an amendment could be placed on a ballot for voter approval. At that time, any gay couples married under the state Supreme Judicial Court's November ruling that found gay marriage constitutional would be stripped of their licenses and considered part of a civil union. Originally proposed in early 2003, the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage took center stage after the Supreme Judicial Court's ruling in November that it was unconstitutional to bar same-sex couples from marriage - a 4-3 decision that the court definitively reaffirmed last week. The first state-recognized gay marriages in U.S. history are to start taking place in mid-May, giving couples more than two years to get married before a constitutional amendment could take away those rights. Finneran railed against the Supreme Judicial Court over its decision, accusing justices of libeling the Legislature by stating that lawmakers had historically shown animus toward gay and lesbian citizens. "There was a libel within that decision," Finneran said. "Long before it became politically fashionable, the Massachusetts Legislature was on record saying that discrimination in the basics of life would not be tolerated." Other lawmakers were ready to fight for allowing gay marriage. "It does not seem to me reasonable to use our constitution as a vehicle to interfere with the rights of others," said Rep. Lida Harkins, a Democrat who supports gay marriage. "In every instance we have extended liberties to the people. I will not vote to use the constitution to exclude human beings from the pursuit of their own personal happiness." The Massachusetts Legislature is tightly controlled by the Democrats, who hold 170 of the 199 seats. (One seat is vacant.) While the Senate compromise appeared to be winning support of moderates, it was also serving to unite gay-rights advocates and their conservative opponents, who both harshly condemned the proposal. The votes will force lawmakers to finally declare their stand on a divisive social issue that most would prefer to avoid, especially with all 200 legislative seats up for grabs at the November elections. If gay marriage takes place in Massachusetts, federal lawsuits would probably ensue as gay couples seek recognition in other states and by the federal government. While marriages performed in one state are normally recognized in other jurisdictions, 38 states and the federal government have approved laws or amendments barring the recognition of gay marriage. – Sapa-AP Related stories Massachusetts gay-marriage ruling fighting for survival [06/02/2004] Massachusetts gay marriage ruling similar to Vermont [21/11/2003] Massachusetts voters support gay marriage: polls [24/11/2003]