The entire high
court in Massachusetts should decide whether to force
lawmakers to take action on a proposed state constitutional
amendment to ban same-sex marriage, one justice
decided on Thursday. Justice Judith Cowin made the
ruling after hearing arguments on last week's request by
Gov. Mitt Romney and other same-sex marriage opponents to
force the lawmakers to decide whether voters can
consider the proposal in 2008.
A hearing before
the seven-member Massachusetts supreme judicial
court--the same panel that said same-sex marriage was
legal in 2003--was set for December 20.
Supporters have
gathered more than 170,000 signatures of people in
support of the proposed amendment, which would define
marriage as the union of a man and a woman. It would
ban future marriages for gay couples in Massachusetts
but leave existing same-sex marriages intact.
Lawmakers
postponed action on the proposed ballot question until
January, prompting Romney's request for court
intervention. ''Governor Romney believes it is the
court's responsibility to step in to protect the right
of the people to petition for a constitutional amendment and
to have it placed on the ballot for a vote,''
spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said. ''The fact the full
court has agreed to hear the matter on an expedited basis
indicates they recognize the important issues involved.''
The attorney
general's office declined comment.
John Hanify, an
attorney for Romney and others who support the measure,
had told Cowin during Thursday's hearing that the
legislature has a history of ignoring voter-initiated
petitions. Lawmakers recessed without voting on a
similar question in 2002, and also used the tactic to block
ballot referendums on topics such as abortion and term
limits for officeholders.
Asst. Atty. Gen.
Peter Sacks had said separation of powers and the
court's own precedent indicate the court should not force
lawmakers to vote.
The proposal
would need the approval of only 50 of the 200 legislators
during the current session, then again in 2007, to proceed
to the November 2008 ballot. Opponents of the
question, including powerful house speaker Salvatore
DiMasi, feared they didn't have the 151 votes needed to
kill the measure and instead called for a vote to recess the
joint house-senate session until January 2. Lawmakers
approved the recess vote by 109-87.
Since marriage
became legal for gays, more than 8,000 same-sex couples
have tied the knot in Massachusetts, the only state to allow
same-sex marriage.
Romney, whose
term ends January 4 and who has been laying the groundwork
for a 2008 presidential run, was in Miami on Thursday for a
meeting of Republican governors. (AP)
