Anti-gay-marriage petitions handed in - Site to post signers' names, addresses
By Kathleen A. Shaw, Worcester Telegram & Gazette | November 24, 2005
Supporters of a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage say they have collected more than 120,000 signatures to put the issue on the ballot in 2008.
Yesterday was the deadline for gathering signature, and 65,000 certified signatures are needed.
"We believe we have more than enough signatures," said Lisa Barstow, a spokeswoman for VoteOnMarriage.org, the organization that spearheaded the signature drive.
A spokeswoman for the Worcester Election Commission said workers there are still processing petitions at City Hall.
Larry Cirignano, executive director of Catholic Citizenship, said he had been told that as of Tuesday, 105,000 of the signatures had been certified by city and town clerks across the state. Catholic Citizenship, founded by former Vatican ambassador Raymond L. Flynn, spearheaded the signature effort in Catholic parishes across the state. The VoteOnMarriage drive was endorsed by the state's Catholic bishops, including Bishop Robert J. McManus of Worcester.
The bishop allowed petition supporters to gather signatures at churches of the Worcester diocese.
Mr. Cirignano said that collecting names took longer than expected. "We should have gotten all the names in one weekend but it took two months," he said.
The petition drive, which began Sept. 21, was marred by allegations of fraud. A number of people across the state, including several from Worcester, said paid signature gatherers induced them to sign petitions under false pretenses. No fraud allegations surfaced among those collecting signatures at churches, however.
Tom Lang, director of KnowThyNeighbor.org, an organization that opposes banning same-sex marriage, said he expects numerous challenges to the signatures because of the alleged fraud. Mr. Lang said yesterday that his organization continues to receive reports of fraudulent signature gathering. Mr. Lang provided e-mails he received from people complaining about fraud.
One person from the Saugus area told KnowThyNeighbor that in October he was asked to sign a petition to allow beer and wine sales in supermarkets. The person was then asked to sign another petition in support of same-sex marriage although the person believes it turned out to be the petition that does not support same-sex marriage.
Another person said that on Nov. 19 he saw a woman collecting signatures inside a shopping mall. He heard her telling people "it was illegal for the judges to change the law."
A woman told the organization that she and her husband saw two collectors Oct. 22 at the South Shore Mall in Braintree. They asked the signature gatherers whether they were Massachusetts residents and if they were being paid. The gatherers threatened to call police, the woman said. She said the gatherers then gave false information about the petition to people who were passing by.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Massachusetts since 2004 because of a decision from the state Supreme Judicial Court.
Mr. Lang said once the signatures are certified by the secretary of state, his organization will post all names and addresses of those who signed them on their Web site. The names become public record once they are certified.
Mr. Cirignano said he wants to prosecute at least two people in the state who invalidated petition forms by writing such things as "Shame on you" and "What would Jesus do?" on the forms. Writing slogans on the forms is illegal and causes all the signatures to be invalidated, he said. He said they have identified at least two people who defaced forms and he is sending the information to police departments to seek prosecution. He declined to name the people or which communities were involved.
"I credit this phenomenal effort to thousands of citizen volunteers and over 1,200 communities of faith - including Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim - who have worked tirelessly to give every citizen in the commonwealth a voice in how marriage is defined in Massachusetts," said Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute and spokesman for VoteOnMarriage.org.
Nineteen states have passed constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Others have "defense of marriage" laws that preclude their states from recognizing same-sex marriages or civil unions performed in other states. Federally, the Defense of Marriage Law, signed by President Clinton, precludes the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, VoteOnMarriage said.
Mr. Mineau said VoteOnMarriage is confident that more than the required number of signatures will be certified by the secretary of state.
"What the citizens of Massachusetts have done is roll up their sleeves and assume their legal rights as citizens to have a voice in government," Mr. Mineau added.
City and town clerks are now processing petitions and must complete the job by Dec. 5. The final petitions must be tallied and brought to the office of the secretary of state, who will make the final certification.
Should the secretary of state's office certify the required number of signatures, the petition must then be approved by 25 percent of the legislators, or 50 members, in two successive sessions before the issue goes to the 2008 ballot.
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