The Globe has the list of legislators who originally voted against marriage equality but came around and voted against the amendment today:
Representatives
Christine Canavan, D-Brockton
Paul Kujawski, D-Webster
Paul Loscocco, R-Holliston
Robert Nyman, D-Hanover
Richard Ross, R-Wrentham
James Valee, D-Franklin
Brian Wallace, D-South Boston
Senators
Gale Candaras, D-Wilbraham (Candaras was a representative in January when she voted in favor of the amendment.)
Michael Morrissey, D-Quincy
Send ’em a thank-you-e-mail.
Please share widely!
Thanks BrightonGuy for the reminder to thank all the folks you list above.
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Can I also suggest some “Luvin” go out to our Lt. Governor Tim Murray as well?
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I read the papers this morning and it was all Deval, Terry and Sal which rightly it should have been, but I only saw one mention of Tim in the three papers I read.
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Tim and Deval teamed up very early on in this fight to try and change minds and bring people over to the winning side.
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From the perspective of someone who worked himself up from the bottom of the trenches of local politics, all the while supporting marriage equality, Tim was able to demonstrate that a politician with a Middle Class Irish-Catholic background like himself was not going to get hurt with a No vote on this matter.
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He’ll also be with Deval and Sal and Terry and live up to a commitment to stand with these folks over the next 17 months to make sure they are able to hold onto their seats next year. This fight did not end yesterday.
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Now go ENJOY your weekend and savor the sweet smell of success!
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PS – don’t forget Geraldo Alicea who in the end went our way as well!
So here’s their emails and tel #s on this Mass Equality page.
… and maybe someone could use their connections to the Senate Clerk to get his link to his biographical page fixed on the General Court House members roster so that it actually links somewhere ???.
I notice that Rep. Wallace of South Boston has not spoken to media about his vote switch. I wonder what his fellow Bostonians Mayor Menino and Rep DiMasi said to him.
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My sense is that a large number of no votes are from people who wish the entire issue would go away. Hopefully it will now.
At least on the state/local level, it’s a hell of a lot more likely to go away now that it’s been killed.
Is the victory a profound change in the way politics in Massachusetts works?
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Here a group of well organized, well funded people made a difference. Usually only business or the mob can get what they want through the Massachusetts legislature. Politicians won’t care for any idea – good, bad, or indifferent – unless they see some advantage to themselves. In this case they realized that people who vote and have significant amounts of disposable income for campaign donations felt strongly about an issue and would take their business to someone that would support their arguments. If the gay community can maintain a strong cohesiveness they can change Massachusetts society in fundamental ways. The legislature is ripe. The non-gay members now know where they stand and better learn to satisfy their constituents or be replaced.
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If the gay community can bring this power to the national level they could bring about the passage of HR1592. A piece of anti-hate legislation, this bill can bring about fundamental social change in the acceptance of the gay lifestyle.
“the gay lifestyle” is not a pro-LGBT term. it is widely used by the anti-equality right to imply that being gay is a frivolous choice, not a fundamental sexual orientation. take care in using the code words of the right, or you may be mistaken for one of them!
“the gay lifestyle” is not a pro-LGBT term.
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As I’ve described elsewhere, I distinguish between “gay” and “homo-” or “bi-sexual.” And, I believe it important to do so.
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A recent example: Jim McGreevy, former governor of New Jersey. Married twice (consecutively, not concurrently) Fathered a child in each marriage. While apparently having homosexual liaisons. Homosexual? Possibly. Also possibly bisexual. Gay? No. To all outward appearances, he was straight–another lifestyle.
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As far as I’m concerned the gay/straight dichotomy, in contrast to the homo-/bi-/hetersexual trichotomy is the difference between what you do (the latter) and what you hold yourself out to society as being.
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BTW, I was appalled when gay organizations welcomed McGreevy’s outing himself as being gay, because thentofore he had held himself out as being straight. On the other hand, from what I understand of McGreevy’s career, he did not support anti-gay legislation, unlike other people who have been outed as having homosexual liaisons.
… Is out and entirely predictable.
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Again, these are the folks who have put their political careers on the line and stood up for equality. They deserve our support in the next election cycle (yes, even the Republicans).
and keep himself employed for another couple of years.
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I predict he’ll have the same success as in the last couple of election cycles — with our help, of course. He continues to push the message that the will of the people supports his cause, but it hasn’t turned out that way.
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The timing hurts him too — the campaign won’t start until a year from now, and almost everyone will have moved on. I’d be amazed if he can even field candidates in all four races.
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…Recall that Mittsy Romney spent millions in 2004 to try to increase the number of Republicans in the state legislature and ended up with a net gain of minus 3. Mineau will be lucky just to get donations comparable to those spent by Romney.
The article about him in the Globe was quite telling, and shows the necessity of making your feelings–not just your opinions–known.
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I don’t know about his history in the legislature, but I suspect that he feels secure on this issue because of the experience of Marian Walsh. Recall that she was running from a relatively conservative district and was targeted by the Roman Catholic Church, no less, because she was opposed to the anti-same-sex-marriage amendment. Despite that, she won re-election in a landslide.