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Massachusetts Has a Chance to Scrap Gay "Marriage" as Court Approves 2008 Ballot Measure

By Gudrun Schultz

BOSTON, Massachusetts, July 10, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex “marriage” can be placed on the 2008 ballot, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled today.

In a unanimous decision, the Court said the Massachusetts’ constitution did not prevent citizen-initiated amendments from seeking changes to the state constitution, even if the changes would overrule previous court decisions, reported the AP today.

Family advocacy groups and faith communities had collected over 120,000 signatures on a petition to overturn the 2003 decision to recognize homosexual “marriage” in the state, nearly twice the 65,000 signatures necessary.  The petition would see a proposed amendment defining marriage as only between one man and one woman placed on the 2008 ballot for voters.

The Massachusetts homosexual activist group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) challenged the petition drive with a lawsuit, filed in January, against a ruling by state Attorney General Tom Reilly, which had granted legal approval to the citizen-led drive.

GLAD charged that the amendment would violate state constitution restrictions against citizen-initiated challenges to a judicial ruling. The Court said the amendment was legal since it was not directly aimed against a judicial ruling, but instead sought to change the state constitution.

With the approval of the Court and certification by the attorney general, the ballot question on marriage now must receive approval by two consecutive legislative sessions, receiving support by 25 percent (50 votes) of the Legislature each time.

If the Legislature approves it, the question will go before voters in the 2008 election. If passed, the amendment would overturn the 2003 state decision that made Massachusetts the first U.S. state to make homosexual “marriages” legal.

A 2004 poll conducted by Zogby International found that 69 percent of voters in the state want to vote on a constitutional amendment to retain the traditional definition of marriage in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Homosexual Activists Sue to Stop Marriage Amendment
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jan/06010404.html

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