No Vote On (Massachusetts) Gay Marriage Until November

[Ian David]

No Vote On Gay Marriage Until November

Massachusetts lawmakers have recessed a constitutional convention until November without voting on a proposed amendment that would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

The move postpones a decision by lawmakers on the controversial issue until after this fall's election. The combined vote of House and Senate members in favor of recessing today's session was 100-to-91.

The amendment in question would effectively end gay marriage in Massachusetts. If approved by at least 25 percent of lawmakers in the current legislative session and again in the next session, it would go before voters in 2008.

More:
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=38321


Also:



Mass. legislature recesses without voting on gay marriage proposal
Posted 7/12/2006 6:03 PM ET
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts lawmakers ended debate on proposed constitutional amendments Wednesday before dealing with the most volatile issue on their agenda: a proposal to outlaw gay marriage in the only state where it is legal.

The move to recess until Nov. 9 put off the decision on the politically charged issue until after the general election.

Senate President Robert Travaglini had said he intended to bring all 20 proposed amendments to a vote, but had warned lawmakers might not be able to get to every proposed amendment on Wednesday.

The House gallery erupted in applause after the vote to recess was announced.

Some gay activists had urged sympathetic lawmakers to use a parliamentary tactic to get around an immediate vote. They worried that supporters of the amendment would've been able to garner the 50 votes needed to get one step closer to putting the question to voters.

"We now have four more months to show legislators how well marriage equality is working in Massachusetts. We hope they will see that Massachusetts is ready to move on. It's hard to come up with a single issue that has been the subject of as much political debate and input as marriage has," said Marc Solomon, campaign director for gay rights group MassEquality.


More:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-07-12-massachusetts-gaymarriage_x.htm



Also:

ConCon adjourns until after election without voting on gay marriage
by: David
Wed Jul 12, 2006 at 17:16:29 PM EDT

By a vote of 100-91, the ConCon has voted to adjourn until November 9 - two days after the Nov. 7 general election - without taking any action on the marriage amendment. Seems to me that this doesn't really change much, since there's no reason they can't vote on the amendments in November instead of now - except that legislators in this session now will not be held to account for their votes on marriage, since we won't actually know what they are until it's too late. To some degree, it also makes gay marriage a less significant issue in the gubernatorial race, since nothing will happen until the race is over - although of course the Governor doesn't have any direct role in this process anyway. {Update} On the other hand, as a couple of commenters have noted, it does make it pretty easy for Kerry Healey to continue her campaign of running as a check on an irresponsible legislature.

So it's kind of a chickenshit move by the legislature, but there you go. In any event, there were really only two actions taken of any importance today: killing the health care amendment without a vote (you can see the roll call vote here - thanks rollbiz!), and advancing the "no excuse" absentee voting proposal to the next legislative session.

This has been a BMG special report. We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.
Discuss :: (5 Comments)

More:
http://www.bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=3A54F472FF2AE470B2109D58F78F196F?diaryId=2819



Edit: deleted roll-call vote sheet-- wrong vote! Sorry!

[Ian David]

1. Vote on Massachusetts anti-marriage constitutional amendment postponed

Vote on Massachusetts anti-marriage constitutional amendment postponed

MEDIA CONTACT:


Roberta Sklar, Communications Director
(Office) 646.358.1465
[e-mail]


WASHINGTON, July 12 — The Massachusetts constitutional convention recessed today without considering a constitutional amendment proposed by initiative petition that would effectively overrule the state high court’s 2004 decision requiring the state to license same-sex marriages. The constitutional convention has recessed until Nov. 9, leaving the fate of the pending initiative petition proposal uncertain.

Statement by Matt Foreman, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

“We are relieved that the Massachusetts Legislature, meeting in its constitutional convention, recessed without taking up the immoral amendment seeking to overturn marriage equality in the Bay State. In 2004, the state’s high court ruled that there are no rational reasons for denying marriage to same-sex couples, and contrary to the dire predictions of our opponents, the institution of marriage in Massachusetts has only been strengthened. Eight thousand same-sex couples have married under state law and won the respect they and their children deserve. And the sun continues to shine — the Red Sox, who beat the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series before winning the World Series, continue to lead their archnemesis this season.

“While this is a welcome respite, it does not provide permanent relief to gay and lesbian couples in Massachusetts. To date, they have had to endure 16 yes or no votes about the validity of their relationships. And another vote this year is still likely. This playing with people’s lives to advance narrow political and partisan interests is beyond cruel.

“We continue to applaud the extraordinary work of MassEquality in defending marriage and look forward to the day when attempts to overturn this fundamental right are rejected once and for all.

“The Legislature has put the issue of banning same-sex marriage on a back burner to attend to other pressing and important issues affecting all the people of Massachusetts. It would do well to permanently consign this immoral and mean-spirited proposal to the legislative dustbin and move on.“


Background

Massachusetts was the first state to sanction same-sex marriages as a result of the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Goodridge et al. v. Department of Public Health, holding that the Massachusetts constitution, known as the Declaration of Rights, required full marriage equality. The initiative petition is the second effort since the Goodridge decision went into effect to amend the Declaration of Rights to prohibit same-sex marriage. A legislatively proposed amendment was voted on favorably by the joint constitutional convention in 2004 but was soundly defeated in the 2005 convention. The Task Force was able to contribute significantly to the successful effort in 2005 to persuade important leaders of the amendment effort to change their votes. The current initiative petition effort requires approximately 66,000 registered voter signatures and at least 50 votes in the constitutional convention to proceed.

-30-

The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge. The Task Force is a 501(c)(3) corporation incorporated in Washington, D.C. Contributions to the Task Force are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. (C) 2005-2006 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. 1325 Massachusetts Ave NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005. Phone [phone]. Fax [phone]. TTY 202.393.2284. [e-mail]

[Ian David]

2. Gay Marriage Amendment Delayed Until 11/9

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Gay Marriage Amendment Delayed Until 11/9
Just in from my agent in the Massachusetts State House. The Constitutional Convention (ConCon) will recess until after the primaries and elections -- November 9th.

Then it will reconvene to consider the other matters, including the two anti-same-sex marriage amendments.

6 p.m. Update: The Boston Globe has filed an item on this. As cited in pre-ConCon coverage, the pro-SSM side likes the delay. The 50-vote minimum margin is very close and they hope to narrow it. No one knows yet whether not having the public view of an election pending would encourage more lawmakers to vote for equality over the anti forces.

The Globe quoted the head of the amendment VoteonMarriage drive, Kris Mineau, as saying, "This move shows the flagrant disregard for the will of the people by Senate President Travaglini and every legislator who voted to recess the convention until November."
Well, that's already the majority of both houses. If the number of legislators willing to associate themselves with the amendment dwindles to 49 or fewer, Mineau will have to find another way to punish homosexuals.

More:
http://massmarrier.blogspot.com/2006/07/gay-marriage-amendment-delayed-until.html