Gay marriage backlash not felt in Massachusetts

[dissention]

I thought this might make some of you guys a bit more chipper:

Gay marriage backlash not felt in Massachusetts
http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=3...s_and_Lesbians

BOSTON - The national Election Day backlash against gay marriage never reached the state blamed for triggering it: Every Massachusetts lawmaker on the ballot who supported gay rights won another term in the Legislature.

The election outcome, combined with the ascendancy of a new state House speaker who supports gay rights, has left in doubt the fate of a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Massachusetts.

The amendment, which would also legalize civil unions, won first-round approval from lawmakers earlier this year. It must be approved again by the newly elected 200-member Legislature before it can be submitted to the voters for ratification in November 2006.

"I think we are in a far, far better position than ever before," said Josh Friedes, spokesman for the Massachusetts Freedom to Marry Coalition. "The electorate showed that it was incredibly tolerant."

"Our state is certainly totally out of step with the rest of the nation," said Kris Mineau, leader of the Massachusetts Family Institute, the organization that has led the fight against gay marriage in Massachusetts. "Massachusetts residents must be beginning to ask themselves, `How come we're different than the rest of the country?'"

ALSO- from a letter I got from MassEquality:

Wow! We won big last night in Massachusetts.

Thanks to your support, every pro-equality legislator won reelection (and more often than not, by very large margins).

In addition, pro-equality candidates won six of eight open seats where the opponent was in favor of the constitutional amendment that would bar marriage equality for same-sex couples. Senators-elect Ed Augustus (2nd Worcester) and Karen Spilka (2nd Middlesex and Norfolk) both won tough races against well-funded opponents. Representatives-elect Denis Guyer (2nd Berkshire), John Keenan (7th Essex), Tom Sannicandro (7th Middlesex), and Cleon Turner (1st Barnstable) also won. These victories were achieved, in no small part, with your volunteer and financial support.

In one of the few races where equal marriage rights became a significant issue, openly gay Carl Sciortino beat by a two-to-one margin Representative Vinny Ciampa, who waged a homophobic write-in campaign after losing the primary.

We unleashed an unprecedented effort statewide to re-elect our allies and defeat our opponents. Along with our coalition partners, MassEquality worked strategically in both the primary and general elections. We told incumbents we’d stick with them and we did, from door-knocking, to phone banking, to fund raising. You were critical to this success.

Yesterday's victories position us extremely well for next year's constitutional convention. We deserve to celebrate. Very soon, however, we will let you know about the next steps in our campaign to preserve equal marriage rights in Massachusetts.

Finally, it bears repeating -- last night's victories in Massachusetts were truly historic and have national implications. What we have done together these past few months is incredible. I can't express the deep admiration I have for all of you who have made this possible.

Sincerely,

Marty Rouse
Campaign Director

P.S. As I write this message, we have lost ten of the eleven statewide ballot initiatives related to marriage with Oregon's fate still uncertain. Massachusetts is the one shining light of hope for supporters of equality in our country.