Word: commonwealths
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...COMMONWEALTH BOOKS (134 Boylston st., facing Boston Common...
...call in resounding fashion, defeating a proposed constitutional amendment to replace same-sex marriage with civil unions by an overwhelming vote of 157 to 39. Through their elected representatives, the people have sent a clear message to Romney and his anti-gay marriage allies: the mainstream of the Commonwealth has come to accept same-sex marriage both as a fundamental right and as an integral component of the state’s social fabric...
...marriage that has occurred since the 2003 court ruling. Since then, almost 6,000 same-sex couples have exchanged wedding vows—a number that represents 17 percent of total marriages within Massachusetts during that period. And despite impassioned warnings from the right, the social fabric of the Commonwealth has remained very much intact...
Even State Senator Brian Lees, one of the bill’s co-sponsors and also a Republican, eventually decided to vote against his own proposition in light of same-sex marriage’s new social role in the Commonwealth. “Today, gay marriage is the law of the land,” he said. “Life has not changed for citizens of the Commonwealth, with the exception of those who can now marry who could not before.” State Senator James Timilty concurred, saying that he decided to vote against the amendment...
...Massachusetts citizenry’s ability to decide the matter of marriage rights for itself. We say only that the citizenry has already made its will abundantly clear, and that the only responsible decision left for Romney and his allies is to drop the issue and let the Commonwealth continue to exist as it has. The recent decision of the Massachusetts Legislature was commendable; let’s hope that the Governor follows in this path of responsible statesmanship...