[1]BOSTON (BP)–The national backlash against same-sex “marriage” on Election Day did not extend to Massachusetts, where homosexual activists made gains in their attempt to defeat a constitutional marriage amendment in that state.
But that doesn’t mean the amendment is dead.
ALSO IN TODAY’S DIGEST:
— Kerry rebuffs Clinton advice on same-sex “marriage.”
— Indiana Republicans take House, reviving a marriage amendment there.
— Iowa “lesbian divorce” judge survives challenge.
[2]MASS. AMENDMENT STILL ALIVE
According to a tabulation by The Boston Globe, amendment supporters suffered a net loss Nov. 2 of at least two — and possibly three — votes in the legislature.
The election was important to the same-sex “marriage” movement because the House and Senate must pass a constitutional marriage amendment one more time before it goes to voters for a vote in November 2006. It passed once earlier this year with 105 votes — four more votes than the 101 necessary.
In May, Massachusetts became the only state to legalize same-sex “marriage,” thanks solely to a ruling by its high court. The amendment is an effort to overturn that ruling.
The process to pass a constitutional amendment in Massachusetts is a lengthy three-step process, and some observers believe homosexual activists targeted the state for that very reason.
Massachusetts’ marriage amendment is far from perfect — it would ban same-sex “marriage” while legalizing civil unions — but it is the best conservatives could do in the liberal-leaning state.
The net loss of as many as three votes does not mean that the total is down 102 votes, though. The Globe reported that during the vote in March, some conservatives voted against the amendment because it legalized civil unions. Now, they might vote for the amendment because they have no other option. In addition, some who voted for the amendment may vote against it this time, not wanting to take away marriage licenses from thousands of homosexual couples.
Still, homosexual activists say they have work to do to defeat the amendment.
“Several people voted against the amendment for the wrong reasons; they didn’t even want civil unions in the constitution,” Marty Rouse, campaign director for the homosexual activist group MassEquality, told The Globe. “That was 12 people. So we really have our work cut out for us.”
A spokesman for Senate President Robert E. Travaglini told The Globe that Travaglini would convene a constitutional convention at a yet-to-be-determined time next year. Travaglini presides over constitutional conventions.
One amendment supporter, former House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran, resigned his post to take a job in the private sector. He was replaced by Salvatore F. DiMasi, a supporter of same-sex “marriage.”
“Speaker DiMasi’s support of gay marriage is well documented, and should the constitutional convention be convened by the Senate president, he fully expects members to vote their conscience, just as he did,” a DiMasi spokesperson told The Globe.
KERRY REBUFFS ADVICE — In an effort to help the Democrats win over values voters, former President Clinton apparently urged Democratic nominee John Kerry to back the various marriage amendment ballot initiatives during the presidential campaign, Newsweek is reporting in its Nov. 15 edition. Eleven states voted on amendments banning same-sex “marriage,” and all 11 passed.
Kerry listened, but told his staff, “I’m not going to ever do that,” Newsweek reports.
Kerry later gave an interview to the homosexual magazine The Advocate. While Kerry wasn’t the first Democrat to do so, he was the first to do it in the final weeks of the campaign. That edition of The Advocate hit newsstands in late October.
INDIANA GOP WINS — The nationwide values tidal wave swept through Indiana Nov. 2, where Republicans took control of the state House after putting forth 11 proposals they promised to tackle if elected. One of those proposals was passage of a constitutional marriage amendment.
The Republicans netted three seats, going from a 49-51 minority to a 52-48 majority. The outgoing Democratic speaker of the House killed a marriage amendment earlier this year, and Republicans protested to no avail.
IOWA JUDGE SURVIVES — The Iowa state judge who granted a lesbian couple a “divorce” in 2003 has survived an effort seeking his removal from office. In the Nov. 2 election, Judge Jeffrey Neary was retained by a vote of 58-42 percent.
Last November, Neary granted the two women a “divorce,” not realizing that they were involved in a Vermont civil union, and not a marriage. But upon learning of his mistake, he said the ruling would stand as-is. Later, he amended his ruling to say that instead of a divorce the civil union would be “terminated,” the Associated Press reported.
His ruling is on appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court.
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For more information about the national debate over same-sex “marriage,” visit http://www.bpnews.net/samesexmarriage [3]