Portions of this story
which appears today in the August print edition of
MassNews have appeared previously on the MassNews
website.
The Vote About Marriage Is Not Over
MassNews Staff
July 29, 2002
The politicians believe
they have successfully ended the debate and the vote
about marriage -- but they are wrong, says Massachusetts
Citizens for Marriage.
"Everyone wishes this
disgraceful display by the Legislature was over,"
says the president of the group, Sarah McVay Pawlick.
"But it's obvious
we're going to have to send a shock wave through Massachusetts
politics before this ends.
"This could cause
a seismic change on Beacon Hill. Everyone in the state,
regardless of how they feel about the Amendment, is
upset with the brazen way the Legislature violates
the law and then brags about it."
Pawlick claims the debate
is just starting and the vote is yet to happen. She
says that no debate or vote was ever allowed by the
Legislature even though both are required under the
state Constitution.
MCM is planning on contacting
all the legislators to determine their feelings about
raising children, which MCM says is the purpose of
the Amendment.
"We never had that
debate about children, because the special interests
controlled the media and the politicians," said
Pawlick. "But we will have it before this ends."
Pawlick says the extreme
feminists at the Globe and other media were deeply
involved in keeping the debate from ever talking about
the institution of marriage and children.
MCM plans on continuing
the fight past the July 31 deadline when the Legislature
adjourns if that becomes necessary.
"If they leave without
taking a vote on the Amendment, then Gov. Swift is
required under the Constitution to call them back
into session," said Pawlick. "It does not
give her a choice. It says she 'shall' recall them."
The organization believes
they can rally enough public pressure on the Legislature
to force it to follow its duties under the state Constitution
and not continue to violate the law.
They say they are also
contacting prominent lawyers across the country as
to what legal action they might bring to force the
state to obey the law or to personally sue them for
damages for violation of their civil rights.
"This is not the time
for us to quit," said Pawlick. "It is the
time to act because everyone is on our side about
our corrupt legislature. We will pursue every avenue
possible to reverse this egregious and shocking violation
of our democracy."
"It was not our intention,
when we began, to challenge the foundations of our
government," said Pawlick. "It has been
thrust upon us by crooked politicians."
The first legislator to
be questioned about his vote on the adjournment of
the Protection of Marriage Amendment, Rep. David P.
Linsky (D) Natick, who is Pawlick's Representative,
told her he is troubled by the vote.
He said that he went against
allowing the legislators to vote on the measure because
he is "part of a team." He believes the
vote will damage the Democratic Party and the Legislature.
However, he has no plans to change his vote at this
time.
"Do I believe he could
change his mind?" mused Pawlick. "Yes, I
do. He seems like an honorable man who could change
if allowed to follow his own conscience."
New
Vote Is On Children
This time the vote will
be centered on the real issue in the debate about
the Amendment: children, children, children, says
Mass. Citizens for Marriage. "Up until now, the
politicians and their friends have cleverly avoided
allowing that debate to occur," said Sarah McVay
Pawlick, President of MCM. She cited the following:
"Whenever anyone appeared anywhere on a television
show in favor of the Amendment, the person on the
other side was always, without fail,
a homosexual activist - even though this is not a
debate about homosexuality.
"Whenever the media talked about the Amendment,
they always said that its purpose is to 'ban gay marriage.'
"The media and the politicians have skillfully
frightened everyone, including us, about the health
'benefits' of those children who live with homosexuals.
Our lawyers have prepared clear, detailed reports
showing that no one will suffer. But no one in the
media cares or reads the reports. They continue the
same old lies."
She said that every person
understands that the purpose of marriage is not about
"partners" and "benefits." It
is about children and their need for a mother and
a father.
"We will challenge
anyone to name a better or cheaper system of raising
children than having their parents do it. It may not
be perfect, but it beats anything else.
"The vast majority
of the politicians who voted to kill the Amendment
will not want to debate. They are frightened to death
by the powers that control them. They will want to
continue hiding behind phony tricks.
"But the voters are
aroused.
"We may not be successful
in getting Tommy Birmingham and his union bosses to
finally follow the law, but if they don't do so this
week, they will be starting a seismic revolution in
Massachusetts politics. If the politicians continue
to treat the voters with such contempt as was displayed
last week, it will have profound effects upon our
entire political structure. We will help see to that.
That was not our intention when we began. It has been
thrust upon us by crooked politicians.
"The vote that will
occur as a result of our survey this week will be
well publicized by us across the entire state for
a long time to come. No legislator will be able to
avoid being recorded on this vote.
"We look forward to
it with enthusiasm."
Pushed by AFL-CIO
Many legislators have told
MCM that it was the union bosses from the state AFL-CIO
and other special interests who threatened each legislator
not to pass the Amendment. The legislators have foolishly,
in their arrogance, publicly acknowledged that they
did not want to vote on it because they knew that
if they did, the Amendment would pass. These legislators
were terribly frightened because they did not know
what to do. They did not want their constituents to
know they were voting against this popular Amendment.
What could they do in order to keep the political
bosses happy without upsetting the voters?
They say that's why we
witnessed the outrageous parody of a democracy that
occurred on Beacon Hill on July 17. "Our legislature
broke the law and defeated the measure without allowing
a vote on its merits. And then they dared to babble
about 'civil rights!'" said Pawlick
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