Sid
11-24-2006, 06:14 PM
Gov. Mitt Romney asked Massachusetts' highest court Friday to force a proposed anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment onto the state's 2008 ballot if the Legislature fails to vote on it.
The Republican governor, a fierce opponent of gay marriage and a possible presidential contender, filed the request with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court after lawmakers put off acting on the question until January. The high court ruled 4-3 in 2003 that the state could no longer deny marriage licenses to gay couples.
Since gay marriage became legal, more than 8,000 same-sex couples have tied the knot in Massachusetts, the only state to allow gay marriage. The ballot measure would ban future gay marriages in Massachusetts but leave existing ones intact.
Romney, who opted not to run for a second term as governor this year, is nearing a decision on whether to seek the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
Mass. gov. forces gay marriage issue (http://www.theconservativevoice.com/ap/article.html?mi=D8LJJ2EO0&apc=9008)
The Republican governor, a fierce opponent of gay marriage and a possible presidential contender, filed the request with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court after lawmakers put off acting on the question until January. The high court ruled 4-3 in 2003 that the state could no longer deny marriage licenses to gay couples.
Since gay marriage became legal, more than 8,000 same-sex couples have tied the knot in Massachusetts, the only state to allow gay marriage. The ballot measure would ban future gay marriages in Massachusetts but leave existing ones intact.
Romney, who opted not to run for a second term as governor this year, is nearing a decision on whether to seek the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
Mass. gov. forces gay marriage issue (http://www.theconservativevoice.com/ap/article.html?mi=D8LJJ2EO0&apc=9008)