
Massachusetts Advances Gay Marriage Ban
BOSTON, MA -- Massachusetts legislators voted
to advance a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage
Tuesday, a critical step toward putting the measure on the 2008 ballot,
Boston.com reports.
The amendment would ban future gay marriages by defining marriage as a
union between one man and one woman.
The
vote in the constitutional convention came without debate, but the
measure still needs approval of the next legislative session before it
can go onto the ballot.
The state Supreme Judicial Court ruled last week that lawmakers' had
shirked their constitutional duties in November by recessing instead of
voting on the proposal but justices acknowledged they had no legal way
to force action.
The supporters of the amendment collected signatures from 170,000 people
in an effort to get the question on the ballot.
The amendment would need to be approved by 50 member of the current
Legislature and 50 members of the new Legislature before going to voters
on the 2008 ballot. On Tuesday, 61 lawmakers backed moving the measure
forward, compared to 132 opposed.
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