MASS. HIGH COURT RULES THAT ONLY SSM (NOT CIVIL UNIONS) WILL BE ACCEPTABLE TO IT.

The state Supreme Judicial Court Wednesday clarified its ruling on gay marriage, telling the state Senate that civil unions are not an acceptable alternative in Massachusetts.

Responding to state lawmakers, the high court ruled that only full, equal marriage rights for gay couples will satisfy its landmark decision issued last fall.

The White House called the court's latest opinion "deeply troubling," again raising the possibility of a U.S. constitutional amendment that would bar same-sex marriages. At the same time, supporters of gay marriage hailed the ruling.

...Gov. Mitt Romney said the state has heard from the court, but not from the people.

"The people of Massachusetts should not be excluded from a decision as fundamental to our society as the definition of marriage," Romney said. ...

In its advisory opinion issued Wednesday, the court said no, writing, "For no rational reason the marriage laws of the commonwealth discriminate against a defined class. No amount of tinkering with language will eradicate that stain." ...

But Romney said the issue is too important to leave to a one-vote majority of the SJC.

"This is why it's imperative that we proceed with the legitimate process of amending our state constitution," he said, which would define exactly what legal marriage is in the state.

Rep. Phil Travis, a Rehoboth, Mass., Democrat said that process would begin next week at the state's Constitutional Convention, where the Legislature will consider an amendment that would legally define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

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posted by Eve at 10:49 AM | link

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