Fighting Words from the AG on anti-gay marriage Amendment

[Ian David]

Fighting Words from the AG on Amendment

Imagine, a Massachusetts Attorney General with courage and a respect for civil rights! Our last one certainly failed those tests, but Martha Coakley is loud and righteous.

I'm about to be out of touch for four or five days. I can't even eat Saturday breakfast without interruption. Well, bless the Globe for being the first to cover her speech to the Massachusetts Lesbian & Gay Bar Association. Key in her remarks was the promise to fight the anti-marriage-equality amendment.

Do-nothing, stand-for-nothing AG Tom Reilly could have stopped this flagrant effort to overturn a Supreme Judicial Court decision early on, but did nothing and stood for nothing. In contrast, Coakley says she's ready if this year's ConCon advances the amendment. As she put it:

"I think we can easily anticipate that if the proposed amendment was successful, there would be protracted, hard-fought litigation about the constitutionality of such a provision. If that battle is necessary, you have my support."

On the good side, that makes four top leaders with the governor, speaker of the house and senate president saying they do not want to strip existing civil rights from any minority. In another contrast to the anti-gay forces, she added that since over 17,000 homosexuals have joined in over 8,500 marriages:

More:
http://massmarrier.blogspot.com/2007/05/fighting-words-from-ag-on-amendment.html


See also:

Coakley to fight for gay marriage
Vows challenge if amendment OK'd

By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | May 12, 2007

CAMBRIDGE -- Attorney General Martha Coakley said last night that if Massachusetts voters were to approve a ban on same-sex marriages, she would back any efforts to challenge the measure on constitutional grounds.

<snip>

Coakley said supporters of same-sex marriage must rally to fend off the challenge. "We must do everything we can to avoid this. . . . We want our future to progress, not regress. And it is why we want to try and ensure that when the Legislature reconvenes, it rejects this antigay, antimarriage amendment. It can and should do it on the merits and end this debate once and for all."

She spoke of the state's "proud tradition of championing and expand ing civil rights," calling it a travesty for the state constitution to be used to erode rights.

"We cannot allow hate to occupy any legal space in Massachusetts. We cannot legislate hate away, but we can hold those accountable who act upon it, and that's why it is important to develop and implement effective civil rights programs in our schools."

More:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/05/12/coakley_to_fight_for_gay_marriage/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+City%2FRegion+News

[bluescribbler]

1. Good for her

As I told her two years ago, she has my vote, any time she wants it. This only confirms my judgement.