Coakley to fight for
gay marriage
Vows challenge if
amendment OK'd
By Megan Woolhouse,
boston.com from the Web, May 12, 2007
CAMBRIDGE -- Attorney General
Martha Coakley said last night that if Massachusetts voters were to approve a
ban on same-sex marriages, she would back any efforts to challenge the measure
on constitutional grounds.
A constitutional ban could go on the ballot in November 2008 if it receives a
second vote of approval from the Legislature.
"I think we can easily anticipate that if the proposed amendment was successful,
there would be protracted, hard-fought litigation about the constitutionality of
such a provision," she said in a speech at the annual dinner of the
Massachusetts Lesbian & Gay Bar Association. "If that battle is necessary,
you have my support."
She said she has asked lawyers in her office's civil rights division to be ready
to respond, if necessary.
The remarks, at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, were the strongest Coakley
has made on same-sex marriage since becoming attorney general in January.
Massachusetts lawmakers are weighing whether to put the proposed ban on the
ballot. On Wednesday, the House and Senate met in a Constitutional
Convention but recessed until next month without taking a vote on the amendment.
After a 2003 decision by the state's highest court, Massachusetts became the
only state in the nation to sanction same-sex marriage. In May 2004, those
marriages became legal.
In her speech, Coakley said that despite warnings by opponents of the decision,
"the sky has not fallen, life goes on."
"The institution of marriage is alive and well in the Commonwealth," she said,
adding that more than 8,500 same-sex couples have married in the state.
"It has been made more inclusive. I think a seamless integration of an
ancient institution with the modern but welcome recognition of the reality of
the diversity of sexual orientation has made our state stronger."
Lisa Barstow, an opponent of same-sex marriage and spokeswoman for the group
voteonmarriage.org,
which is advocating for the ban, disagreed with Coakley and asserted that
same-sex marriage has set the state back.
She cited the decision by Catholic Charities in Boston to close its adoption
service last year because the church does not condone same-sex adoption of
children. "That is one clear example," Barstow said. "And who pays
the price? Children."
Those who believe marriage should be legally restricted to a man and a woman
have demonstrated broad support for their position. For example, the
Massachusetts Family Institute has collected tens of thousands of signatures in
support of the amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Barstow said yesterday
that number is up to 170,000. "These are the citizens of Massachusetts
that she has been elected to serve," she said, referring to Coakley.
Throughout her speech, Coakley received several standing ovations from the
hundreds of lawyers in attendance.
Alan Minuskin, a professor at Boston College Law School, called her remarks
"wonderful."
Coakley's support of same-sex marriage remains important even if the amendment
fails, he said. "There's always a threat of backlash," creating new
challenges to same-sex marriage.
He noted that the college's law school -- rooted in Catholic Jesuit tradition --
has had a policy forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation since
1982. There is no similar policy in the undergraduate school, he said.
Coakley said supporters of same-sex marriage must rally to fend off the
challenge. "We must do everything we can to avoid this. ... We want our
future to progress, not regress. And it is why we want to try and ensure
that when the Legislature reconvenes, it rejects this antigay, antimarriage
amendment. It can and should do it on the merits and end this debate once
and for all."
She spoke of the state's "proud tradition of championing and expand ing civil
rights," calling it a travesty for the state constitution to be used to erode
rights.
"We cannot allow hate to occupy any legal space in Massachusetts. We
cannot legislate hate away, but we can hold those accountable who act upon it,
and that's why it is important to develop and implement effective civil rights
programs in our schools."
Megan Woolhouse can be reached at
mwoolhouse@globe.com.
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