For this third round of protests, the demonstrators come conveniently color-coded. Supporters of gay marriage rights are wearing little red stickers that read, "I Support the SJC". Opponents are wearing yellow "One Man, One Woman" stickers that, serendipitously, use same font and have the same general dimensions.
I didn't get down to the State House until pretty late in the day, so I can't say how things were at the start of this third round of demonstrations. But by the late afternoon, red stickers outnumbered yellow by about three to one.
I couldn't help but get the feeling that the fire has gone out of the anti-marriage side. I saw the "Gays Are Possessed By Demons" guy, and there was a huge orange "Jesus is the LORD" banner that loomed over about half of the area cordoned off for the protests. But as far as I could tell, there were none of the histrionics we saw last time. There were no screaming arguments. No dragging around of crosses. No burlap-clad protesters grovelling in the mud in front of little crucifixes.
I dunno. By the time I got there, the anti-gay side had lost two important procedural votes, making civil unions, at the very least, essentially a fait accompli. Maybe they're just disappointed by their losses.
Or maybe they're just tired. Their side has had to bus protesters in from the boonies. Some of them came from out-of-state. It must be exhausting, all that traveling. Between that and all the high-energy hating they've been doing, they must be plumb tuckered.
Posted by Peter at March 29, 2004 05:07 PMThanks for the updates! I hadn't realized the previous round wasn't the final round.
I'm still a little confused about one point in the proceedings. The piece you pointed to mentioned that the following change was being made to the amendment:
"The new language specifies that civil unions do not get federal benefits and that state benefits that come from civil unions flow to individuals rather than couples."
But it also indicated, if I understood right, that people in favor of same-sex marriage were in favor of that change. Do you happen to know why they would've been in favor of that?
Also, what's the next step? I gather that this now goes on hold for a year (or more?), and the legislature has to pass an identical amendment again before it'll go to the voters. True? If so, is this going to be a major issue in state-legislature elections between now and then, both sides trying to fill the legislature with people who'll vote as desired when it comes to the next vote?
Posted by: Jed at March 30, 2004 04:35 PMI can't find anything that says gay-marriage supporters were in favor of that particular change, nor would it make much sense. As I understand it, the compromise people wanted the language in the amendment so the Commonwealth wouldn't be liable for federal benefits denied to gay couples under DOMA. I don't know if that is the real reason or just an excuse.
Posted by: Mark at March 31, 2004 09:03 AMWhat they were telling us was that the legislators who could be counted on to vote for same-sex marriage rights were voting in a block with the leadership in order to keep more conservative changes to the amendment from reaching the floor. The leadership didn't have enough support to move their version of the amendment forward without this language protecting the amendment from a federal DOMA challenge.
Our side was hoping to end up with language the most anti-gay-rights legislators would be uncomfortable approving in the final vote. It was a calculated gamble that almost worked. There were only 55 or so legislators who originally voiced their opposition to a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage; in the end, 92 of the 200 legislators voted against the amendment.
And, in the final analysis, we didn't do so bad. The proposed amendment can't be changed now. So even if it does get affirmed next year, and even if it is approved by voters, at least comitted same-sex couples in Massachusetts will have the all the legal rights the Commonwealth guarantees to married couples. It could have been much, much worse.
It's the next legislature that's going to be reaffirming the proposed amendment before it goes to the voters, so Jed, you're absolutely right. Mass Equality, Freedom to Marry, and the HRC are scrambling to get gay-friendly candidates lined up for the next election; I can only assume the other side is doing the same.
Posted by: Peter at March 31, 2004 10:03 AMI got caught in the middle of Hate Central here in Ky., where the gay rights protesters are very few indeed, the other day. It still makes me feel sick to think about. There were thousands of them. They had come in from all over the state. For a protest the week before, they hired an airplane to fly over the Capitol with a banner behind it with the ill-conceived "One Man, One Woman" emblazoned on. I stayed inside at my job all day and only heard about it later. So far, no constitutional amendment has passed to be on the ballot this fall -- this is more because the D's and the R's hate each other, than anyone taking a moral stand.
And let me tell you something else: these particular type of Christians have TERRIBLE taste in music.
So, maybe they are tired in Massachusetts, but I think this is going to be a long battle. Kind of makes you miss when all these people were tied up protesting their inability to put the 10 commandments on public buildings, doesn't it?
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