Gay Marriage in Massachusetts - An Update From the Field
Nov 23 '03
The Bottom Line Massachusetts residents are showing that they are much more tolerant than their politicians are.
Just a quick update on what’s been going on in Massachusetts, with regards to the SJC’s decision that Gay Marriage must be allowed under the current state constitution.
BOSTON - Two new polls released Sunday show Massachusetts lawmakers could be bucking public opinion if they try to thwart the Supreme Judicial Court's ruling last week that found the state's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional. Fifty percent of Massachusetts residents surveyed for a Boston Globe/WBZ-TV poll said they agreed with the ruling, while 38 percent opposed it. A separate Boston Sunday Herald poll found 49 percent said they support legalizing gay marriage, while 38 percent oppose it.
I’m finding it kind of amazing. There seems to actually be more backlash across the country, than there is here in Massachusetts. Other than my gay friends here and other friends who I’ve spoken with on the issue, I haven’t heard anything from anyone. Even at the office, no one has seemed to have batted an eye.
We’ve got Bush railing against the destruction of “marriage,” along with most of the politicians here in Massachusetts, while it appears that most of the residents are going along with the decision. Everyday we hear how Beacon Hill (the capitol area) is going to pass a Civil Union law or amend the constitution. Well what they don’t seem to realize is that it will take at least 2 years to amend the constitution (2 conventions and then a public referendum vote) and by that time, I’m sure thousands of gay couple will have been married. If a majority of the public is already in support of the SJC’s decision, by the time the referendum vote comes along, people will realize that the world will not end when gays start marrying and I doubt that they will have the votes to pass the amendment.
Now that’s looking on the bright side I will admit. Massachusetts’ decision may provide fodder for republicans in DC to start to push through the amendment to the US constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman and I’m sure this will push other states to enact their own “Defense of Marriage,” acts (DOMA). However, once people start getting married in Massachusetts – I’m willing to bet lawsuits will be filed against the federal DOMA law and the state versions and it seems like they would not stand a constitutional challenge.
Perhaps it’s high time for this to happen – Civil Unions in Vermont were a big deal for about a year and the domestic partnership legislation in California modeled after the Civil Union law passed with only a whisper. When gay people in Massachusetts start getting married, hopefully people all over the country will realize that this is not a destruction of marriage, but the natural extension of civil rights to all of society.
And believe me, my boyfriend of 7 years and I sure do have marriage on our mind. I’m not sure when or where, but it will happen now that it can. I broke the news to my Mom last week – I was like “so when would be a good time for you to attend a wedding?” She hadn’t heard the news yet and was pretty amazed that it was happening. So she just might get that wedding for her oldest son yet, except they’ll be two guys in tuxes up there. However, after all the years of my relationship, she realizes that all we want is what everyone else has. She wants us to have all the protections and benefits that come along with being married.
So in closing, while the politicians from Massachusetts and in DC are railing against the destruction of the institution of marriage, most residents here in Massachusetts, who are the ultimate decision makers when it comes to either keeping the constitution as it is, or amending it, are supportive of the SJC’s decision and ultimately the legalization of gay marriage. Some people it appears, understand the benefits of equal rights for everyone.
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