Church gives pre-election scorecard

[Freddie Stubbs]

Gay marriage votes identified in mailings

By Raphael Lewis and Michael Paulson, Globe Staff | June 15, 2004

As legislative elections loom, the Massachusetts Catholic Conference is sending letters to all 710 parishes in the state urging Catholics to ''share their profound disappointment" with lawmakers who did not vote to ban gay marriage earlier this year.

The mailings, issued by the lobbyist for the state's Catholic bishops, also prodded Catholics to offer their ''highest praise" for lawmakers who opposed gay marriage during this spring's Constitutional Convention, saying they acted ''so courageously in favor of traditional marriage."

While the letters made no reference to Election Day, they are arriving just five months before all 200 seats in the House and Senate are up for grabs on Nov. 2. The mailings did not endorse particular lawmakers or compare incumbent legislators to their opponents, but they follow earlier attempts by the bishops and the conference to influence the Legislature on gay marriage.

The Massachusetts Legislature voted by a slim margin in March to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2006 that would ban gay marriage, but establish civil unions for gay couples. Gays and lesbians began marrying legally in Massachusetts May 17, the result of a November ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court.

more: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/06/15/church_gives_pre_election_scorecard/

[CaliforniaLady]

1. I thought there were laws against churches endorsing candidates!

Couldn't churches that endorse candidates in ANY way lose their tax-exempt charitable status?

[Freddie Stubbs]

2. They did not make any endorsements

They simply informed voters how their legislators voted. As long as they don't advocate the election or defeat of candidates, they are probably within the law.