Yes, you read that right. Yesterday, Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty crapped all over the Catholic bishops’ utterly misguided effort to exempt Catholic Charities’ adoption program from state law barring discrimination against gay couples who want to adopt. As well they should have. State law is clear that discrimination against gay couples in adoption is illegal; Romney correctly said that he had no authority to create an exemption without legislative action; and O’Flaherty said that “there would not be an appetite to entertain” the possibility of a legislative exemption.
Make no mistake – this effort stems from the bishops themselves, and appears to be contrary to what Catholic Charities wants to do (recently the Catholic Charities board unanimously approved continuing to facilitate adoption by gay couples). Several board members of Catholic Charities are quoted (some by name, some anonymously) in the Globe story as being appalled at what the bishops are doing, and there are rumors that some board members will resign in protest if the plan goes forward. Especially appalling is that the bishops are forcing Catholic Charities to use its own money to hire the very expensive Boston law firm of Ropes & Gray to devise a legal strategy around the state anti-discrimination law. Surely that money could be better used for, oh, I don’t know … helping people?
So good for Romney and O’Flaherty for doing the right thing. Hey, even a stopped clock is right twice a day!
It also shows that Eugene is feeling his primary challenger nipping at his heels by getting out there and trying to look a little more liberal than Zel Miller…
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It still won’t make us forget your trip to Portugal Eugene.
Didn’t O’Flaherty also support the immigrant tuition bill and the clean needle bill? I don’t know if those were election-year conversions or not, but this has not been the only time O’Flaherty has been on the right (or is it left?) side of the issues recently.
I like Schiavone, I just feel its a bit inaccurate to say that O’Flaherty is a little to the left of Zell Miller, given his position on those other bills. I’m open to being corrected, though, if someone who knows more about his history believes that his needle and tuition positions were also election-induced conversions.
This is such hipocracy on the part of the Leftist Homosexual community!!!
They feel that they should be able to force their agenda on anyone even the Catholic church whose teaching frown on Homosexuality. My god no speaks of what the Muslim Community would say if this was forced on thier religious community, or is it that the Gay community fear being targeted for violence if they do that!!!
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These are the same tyoe of people who would handicap my parents from sending me to a State University and pay at a higher rate because an Illegal Alien was using up all of the federally funded scholarship money. My parents who have obeyed all laws and dilegently pay their taxes, TAXES that Subsidize the Hospitals, Police, Fire Dept, welfare that these people use……ILLEGALLY!
Is it any question why people are leaving Massachusetts in droves????
thanks for the thoughtful comment, I guess.
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Seriously, here are two problems with your position. First, if a Muslim or Jewish adoption agency tried to refuse to serve gay couples, I’d think that was just as against the law (and just as wrong) as it is for a Catholic agency. So I don’t see any hypocrisy here. Second, it’s NOT Catholic Charities that wants to stop serving gay couples – their board of directors (all of whom, I assume but perhaps wrongly, are Catholic) just voted UNANIMOUSLY to CONTINUE serving gay couples. It’s the bishops that are forcing this down Catholic Charities’ throat, against its will. So there’s not exactly unanimity on this point in the Catholic community.
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As for the illegal alien thing … oh, never mind.
It’s very simple: O’Flaherty supports his church to take a private position but as House chairman of the committee that would decide on this issue, he wouldn’t favor an exemption from the state’s antidiscrimination statute. This has nothing, in my meager opinion and as a Charlestown resident for 17 years, to do with some primary challenger (that will be destroyed by O’Flaherty in the primary) as Wayne seems to indicate wrongly. Schiavone is a joke, everyone political in Charlestown knows it, our local blog has the most liberal members of the community supporting O’Flaherty, never mind the Irish catholic voter base that is still here which is 100% O’Flaherty. All this, Wayne, means Schiavone, the little poodle barking & nipping, will be kicked and booted to shame: the same way he was kicked out of the seminary, no dignity, no honor, just another nobody want ing to be somebody who’ll end up being an embarassed nobody.
welcome back!
I was away but now I’m back to comment on all the upcoming elections but in particular the race (or lack thereof) in my own Rep’s seat; I say lack thereof because all the leftie commies think schiavone has a chance and I think it’s an absolute joke and I will call all the phonies to the mat on this one. Get over it; O’Flaherty has no opposition even worth mentioning, Wayne is an idiot and probably works for Schiavone and this blog gets him attention. Any response Wayne? What makes you think Schiavone has a shot Wayne?