Mass. House Parties Boost Marriage Equality

[Ian David]

by Kilian Melloy
EDGE Boston Contributor
Monday Apr 30, 2007

House parties in support of marriage equality took place across Massachusetts over the weekend, featuring an 11-minute video produced by MassEquality.

The parties represent an attempt by supporters of marriage equality to rally in opposition to a proposed amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution that would strip marriage equality from residents and prevent future marriages between same-sex couples. Since 2004, Massachusetts has been the only state in America to allow same-sex couples to wed.

In January, the proposed Massachusetts amendment cleared the first of two legislative hurdles when 63 state lawmakers voted to allow the proposition to go forward and appear on the 2008 ballot as a referendum initiative. If 50 or more out of the state’s 200 legislators vote in favor of the amendment during the May 9 constitutional convention, the proposal will appear on the 2008 ballot, putting marriage equality at risk.

Titled Angels, the MassEquality video relates the story of how a similar anti-marriage equality amendment went to a referendum vote in Wisconsin, with the unexpected result that the amendment was approved by voters and the Wisconsin Constitution amended to exclude same-sex couples from marriage. Interviewees on the video include Mark Pocan, a Wisconsin state representative, who is shown saying, "Do you really want mob rule deciding who’s going to be discriminated against and who’s not going to be discriminated against?"

More:
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=19985