BOSTON, February 4, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a 4-3 split decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that denying same-sex couples the official status of ‘marriage’ versus a ‘civil union’ is ‘unconstitutional.’ The ruling came after an earlier court decision which mandated that the legislature rewrite the marriage law to include homosexual couples. The wording of the original ruling was vague and left lawmakers wondering if a ‘civil union’ law, similar to Vermont’s, would suffice. The Massachusetts court said that any bill that fails to call homosexual union a ‘marriage’ would create an “unconstitutional, inferior, and discriminatory status for same-sex couples.” Wednesday the legislature will hold a constitutional convention, which will consider an amendment to the constitution that would render the definition of marriage as “between one man and one woman”. A vote on the amendment would not be possible, however, until 2006; the high court ruling will thus be law until then. Read the Focus on the Family reaction to the ruling: http://family.org
Also read the Family Research Council press release at: http://www.frc.org?i=PR04B03