Constitutional Convention (Thursday, Feb. 12, 2004)
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Sen. Magnani continued: And in good conscience I cannot vote to do that. In my 20 years, I have never received the amount of mail I have received and I intend to respond to every one of them. For weeks I have read, thought and prayed for this decision. While others may disagree, I think that a vote for this amendment is a vote taking away civil rights for a group of people that currently have them. I hope the amendment is not adopted. Sen. Nuciforo was recognized. Rep. O’Brien asked for a clarification. He asked if the amendment he was handed by the court officers is the one we are debating. He asked for the clerk to read the amendment. Clerk Welch read the compromise amendment.
Sen. Nuciforo said I rise to urge the members not to support the amendment. Think back to the ninth or tenth grade. Chances are you read a book by Nathaniel Hawthorne called the Scarlet Letter. Apparently, the protagonist in that book had to wear a scarlet letter A. And when she wore that letter A, everyone regarded her as a little different. She herself felt different. We have an amendment here that it’s going to be the public policy in Massachusetts that creates another class of citizens. And they will enjoy the class of civil unions. But folks, they’re going to be different. They will be regarded as different. They will walk around and people will think that they’re different and yes, even those people themselves will think that they’re different. This very issue was addressed by the SJC. What the court said is hat there are intangible benefits associated with being a married couple. He read an excerpt from the decision. The SJC said there are intangible benefits that are conveyed from being in a married couple. Sen. Tarr said like so many other people who have taken this microphone, I thought this time would never come. I never thought we would have such a very deep and important role in determining the future. For most of us, this is the most important vote that we will ever take. It is a case of first impression. There are very few prior decisions for us to look at. In that vacuum we are left with one thing. We are left with our sense of right and wrong. We are fortunate to live in a commonwealth that so values the input of our citizens. They have responded by the thousands. Rep. Hill asked for members to sit down and listen. Sen. Travaglini said they are interrupting the progress we are making. Sen. Tarr continued: In this new world there are some givens. And those givens are that there will be a change at how we look at marriage. After today, I suspect there will be new views that evolve. Rights have been arguably conveyed that are constitutional but have not been recognized in the past. There has been mention about the intention of the founders had. He referenced Article 4 of the constitution that gives the people the sole right of governing themselves. For me, one of the reasons this has been such an incredibly difficult issue is that we have two different spheres clashing in front of us. The right to vote. And the right that people are equal and should have the right to join together in associations without the interference of the state. So many of us have listened to all of the stories and indeed some of the fears of changing some of those issues. There has been a discussion of our role as a Legislature. Is it our obligation to put something on the ballot? Proudly we have proven that is not our obligation. Unlike some of what has been said, I disagree that the voters will always do the wrong thing. I think, more often than not, the voters do the right thing. I think in this chamber, we see the exact events the founders would have applauded. This amendment finds an accommodation as close to one that can be found. There will never be anything closer, but it says we value the right for the people to vote. But it moves forward knowing the bar has been raised. Things have changed, and we have changed them.