Legislator says Massachusetts will ban gay marriage

[davidinalameda]

http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?ID=9739&sd=09/02/03

If the Massachusetts high court legalizes gay marriage in a decision due this fall, house speaker Tom Finneran predicts that the state legislature will react with a constitutional amendment to ban such unions. A previous attempt to change the constitution was supported by more than 100,000 voters, who signed a petition in favor of the amendment. The legislature killed that effort last summer. "I think there'd likely be a legislative response," the socially conservative Boston Democrat said. "Last year's petitions speak to a fundamental concern and level of awareness that exists out there in the body politic." Massachusetts's supreme judicial court is expected to issue a decision this fall in a suit filed by seven gay couples who are seeking the right to marry. Because of the makeup of its court and its past decisions regarding gay rights, legal experts and advocates have predicted that Massachusetts could become the first state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage.

[goobergunch]

1. *boos Finneran*

Massachusetts DUers, is he a DINO? Because I remember him threatining to eliminate Meehan's district in redistricting.

[Kat45]

4. Yes, he's a DINO.

Unfortunately.

[Kat45]

2. Of course it will.

This state, and especially our legislators, is extremely Catholic. Mass may be liberal in a lot of ways, but the old-line conservative Catholics are numerous here. They can be liberal on a lot of things, but things like gay marriage, which they see in moral and religious terms, is not one of those things. (The last statement is particularly true of the politicians, who don't want to offend the church.)

And Finneran, who is quite conservative even beyond what his Catholic beliefs dictate, rules the House of Representatives with an iron fist. They're all terrified of him; anyone who goes against him gets severely punished. Many a bill has languished in the House just because he didn't like it.

[David__77]

3. Contrast between CA Democrats and MA Democrats.

I can only think of one anti-gay Democratic legislator in this state. He's from Bakersfield. It's interesting that so many anti-gay Democrats have leading positions in MA. On the other hand, there are no pro-gay Republicans in CA either, while I believe there are in MA.

[semass]

5. Now you know why

the Repukes have a lock on the Governor's office.

[Chico Man]

7. Hi semass

Welcome to DU!

If your a fan of Howard Dean, we have many SE Mass representatives regularly attending RI for Dean meetings.

Check out http://www.rifordean.org for more info.

[Atlant]

6. Finneran is a first-class power-monger but an appallingly bad legislator.

Finneran is a first-class power-monger but an appallingly bad
legislator. He uses his office as a private fiefdom, routinely
holding up bills he doesn't like, rewarding his friends, and
punishing his political enemies. There was an attempt to unseat
him from the Speaker's chair a few years ago and he's still
punishing everyone who participated in it.

The Marty Meehan incident alone should have ended his career;
I dunno, maybe he's got photos of the Democratic State Party
officials "riding" a donkey?

Someone ought to sneak up on him in a primary challenge and "pick
him off"; the Commonwealth of Massachusetts would be far, far better
off if Finneran were sent packing, even if it meant temporarily
losing his seat to an actual Republican (rather than a de facto
Republican like Finneran).

Atlant

[Monte Carlo]

8. A ban on gay marriages in MA? Seems like a stretch...

... I mean, the state home to Mount Holyoke and Wellesley College? The home of the People's Republic of Cambridge? Of Representative Barney Frank?

The Catholic heritage in this state is strong, but I really don't think it's that strong. Not in this day and age, but then again, I'm biased.

[Atlant]

9. You forgot Smith.

> I mean, the state home to Mount Holyoke and Wellesley College?

You forgot Smith :-)

Atlant