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R. C. Church Plans Unprecedented Anti-Gay Voter Drive by Michael J. Meade, 365Gay.com from the Web, March 27, 2004 Boston, MA -- The Roman Catholic Church has begun a massive statewide drive to register voters in hopes of defeating Massachusetts lawmakers who support gay marriage. The Massachusetts Catholic Conference said there are tens of thousands of people who have never before registered to vote and they are "a formidable force". It is the first time the Church has launched such a drive and comes just days before the legislature is to once more take up the issue of amending the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The voter drive was announced in The Pilot, the official newspaper of the Boston Archdiocese and is being regarded by some lawmakers as an open challenge and a blurring of the separation of church and state. The church says it isn't threatening anyone with anything except "Christian ethics". The official position of the church is to oppose gay marriage and civil unions. It is already on record saying it regards civil unions as marriage by another name. About 67 percent of the Legislature is Catholic. "Legislators who decide to vote to harm the institution of marriage -- either by allowing same-sex marriage to stand unchallenged or by creating civil unions -- will feel a backlash in November," The Pilot said in an editorial this week. The drive will be made through parishes, said Dan Avila, associate director for policy and research at the Catholic Conference, in hope of reaching the recent immigrants who attend in large numbers and young parishioners who may not yet have registered to vote. "Churches typically serve the most underrepresented populations in terms of the rate of voter registration," Avila said. "Parishes are among the few institutions that can reach groups that are notably under-registered, racial and ethnic minorities, new citizens, youth." The voter drive is being closely watched by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and if it is successful similar drives could be mounted in other states. Meanwhile, May 17, the day when town clerks in Massachusetts must begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples is quickly approaching. Today the state Department of Public Health told town and city clerks they'll undergo training in early May on issuing marriage licenses. The new licenses must be gender neutral and issues such as dealing with out of state couples must be decided. An old Massachusetts law allows clerks to refuse licenses to people who are not residents. Governor Mitt Romney has said he may ask the court for a delay. His spokesperson calls the clerks' training "premature."
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