BOSTON
–
Gay
marriage
advocates
won
at
least
a
temporary
victory
late
Thursday
night
as
the
Massachusetts
Legislature
adjourned
after
proponents
of
a
constitutional
amendment
banning
gay
marriage
failed
to
secure
the
necessary
votes.
Lawmakers
are
set
to
take
up
the
issue
again
on
March
11.
Same-sex
marriage
supporters
lining
the
corridors
of
the
state’s
capital
rejoiced
and
sang
“God
Bless
America”
while
their
opponents
chanted,
"we
want
a
vote”
as
the
Legislature
adjourned
at
midnight.
Supporters
of
the
gay
marriage
amendment
failed
to
secure
a
majority
to
pass
any
of
the
four
proposed
measures.
Same-sex
marriage
advocates
had
staged
a
filibuster
shortly
after
10
p.m.
designed
to
delay
the
proceedings
until
the
constitutional
convention’s
midnight
deadline.
Opponents
of
gay
marriage
stormed
out
of
the
capital
and
took
issue
with
Senate
President
Robert
E.
Travaglini
(D-Suffolk),
saying
that
he
used
his
powers
to
block
the
vote
by
refusing
to
allow
proponents
of
the
amendment
to
speak.
“I'm
frustrated
and
I
blame
the
Senate
president,"
Rep.
David
Nangle
(D-Lowell)
told
the
Associated
Press.
“This
was
a
terrible
injustice
to
the
citizens
of
the
commonwealth
and
we'll
be
back
to
fight
another
day.”
And
House
Speaker
Thomas
M.
Finneran
(D-Suffolk),
an
ardent
opponent
of
gay
marriage,
said
in
a
statement
that
despite
last
night’s
filibuster,
“our
efforts
will
continue."
“It
has
been
a
struggle
for
the
members,
as
it
is
for
every
citizen,"
Finneran
said.
“No
one
should
expect
that
decisions
of
this
magnitude
would
be
made
casually
or
quickly.”
Despite
the
relief
expressed
by
many
gay
marriage
supporters,
Arline
Isaacson,
co-chair
of
the
Massachusetts
Gay
&
Lesbian
Political
Caucus,
told
the
Boston
Herald
that
this
is
just
the
first
step
in
defeating
a
marriage
ban.
“We've
won
tonight
in
that
we've
dodged
the
bullets,"
she
said.
“We
have
a
very
hard
road
ahead
of
us.
It's
an
uphill
fight
and,
unfortunately,
it's
likely
we
won't
prevail,
we'll
fight
as
long
as
we
can."
Lawmakers
will
revisit
the
issue
on
March
11
and
some
have
hinted
that
Republican
Gov.
Mitt
Romney
and
Finneran
will
support
legislative
attempts
to
block
the
issuance
of
gay
marriage
licenses
on
May
17,
a
date
set
by
the
Massachusetts
Supreme
Judicial
Court,
which
ruled
last
November
in
Goodridge
vs.
Dept.
of
Public
Health
that
the
state
must
issue
marriage
licenses
to
gay
couples.
Isaacson
told
the
Boston
Herald
that
she
fears,
“at
the
end
of
the
day,
they
will
put
something
on
the
ballot.
...
They
are
going
to
turn
us
into
second-class
citizens.”
Thursday’s
debate
was
filled
with
many
impassioned
speeches
on
both
sides
of
the
aisle.
Travis
said
the
amendment
“tells
the
people
of
Massachusetts
what
marriage
is.”
“We
do
love
everyone
equally.
We
don't
pick
on
people
because
of
different
color
or
preference
of
sex.
That
has
never
been
an
issue
in
this
debate,”
Travis
said.
And
Sen.
Jarrett
T.
Barrios
(D-Cambridge),
who
is
gay,
made
an
emotional
plea
yesterday
saying
that
the
proposed
amendment
would
adversely
affect
his
family.
"Don't
kid
yourself
that
a
ban
on
same-sex
marriage
will
not
hurt
your
gay
and
lesbian
friends,
relatives
and
colleagues,"
he
told
the
convention.
"It
will.
Believe
me,
it
will."
The
Associated
Press
contributed
to
this
report.
