Thursday, September 21, 2006

SSM Primary Victories

Everyone -- except the most hard-core nasties -- see this week's primaries as affirmation of same-sex marriage here in Massachusetts. The short of it is that same-sex marriage proponents won their primaries, SSM opponents either lost or where they are retiring were replaced on the Dem side with pro-SSM ones.

Also, one of the most long-term, firmest opponents was dumped for a pro-SSM guy.

The overview statewide is covered nicely in this week's Bay Windows.

The parallel with Canada is again striking. They too have a history of SSM. As with Massachusetts, reality eventually trumps fear. People seeing married gay couple, often with kids can stop thinking of them as the other and being accepting them as us.

In both places, most voters want to move on and see their politicians get on with real business.

However, there are outliers, those pups who won't stop worrying the old, familiar sock. A very amusing example was in today's Globe as a letter from the MassResistance/Article 8 guy (apparently not available online except in the archives). It's short and delusional:
RESULT HARDLY A REFERENDUM ON GAY MARRIAGE

THE STARK headline of your Sept. 20 post-election article "Vocal foe of same-sex marriage unseated" (City & Region) seems intended to give the reader the impression that the defeat of state Representative Marie Parente, of Milford, was a mini referendum on the same-sex marriage issue. Is that wishful thinking on the Globe's part?

In fact, as the article itself says, the victor, John Fernandes, said the major focus was on "pocketbook issues" such as property taxes and Big Dig spending. It's entirely possible that most of the voters didn't even realize there was a difference between the candidates on gay marriage. The Globe should save its editorializing for the editorial page.
BRIAN CAMENKER
Newton
So, there Presente has been in the legislature, over 20 years of anti-gay and anti-SSM talk and bills. He would have us believe that the voters didn't know what she was about.

From here, it's rather plain that not only did they know her -- and many other old-line anti-gay types -- but they are tired of it all.

Let's do something real. This election shows that even the conservative towns know when to move on.

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