About the petition

Same-sex families would be denied marriage and civil unions.

On September 14, 2005, the MA legislature defeated an amendment that would have eliminated the right of gays to marry but allowed civil unions. Now a new, stricter amendment that makes no provision for civil unions is underway.

Petition #05-02, the Constitutional Amendment to Define Marriage, reads as follows:

"When recognizing marriages entered into after the adoption of this amendment by the people, the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall define marriage only as the union of one man and one woman."

Who's behind it?

The Amendment Petition 05-02 was filed by 30 Massachusetts citizens.
Raymond L. Flynn, former mayor of Boston and former Ambassador to the Vatican, was the first signer of the petition. Catholic Citizenship, an organization chaired by Flynn, helps coordinate Catholic involvement.
The Ballot Question Committee managing the signature gathering effort is called VoteOnMarriage.org. Kristian M. Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, is the official spokesman for VoteOnMarriage.org.
Legal guidance is being provided by Ohio-based lawyer David R. Langdon.
Governor Mitt Romney and members of his administration back the amendment and are providing support.
The Massachusetts Republican Party, despite its officially neutral stance on gay marriage, struck a back room deal with the anti-gay marriage petition sponsors to collect signatures in exchange for help building its database for the 2006 elections.
The Catholic Church, led by the state's four bishops, has provided extensive support to the amendment. The bishops each sent letters to the pastors in their dioceses, asking them to support the initiative and those that dissented were disciplined. Catholic organizations like The Massachusetts Catholic Conference and The Knights of Columbus are also involved.
Major support is being provided by Focus on the Family, a national organization founded by James Dobson that is worth over $130 million dollars. Other Dobson organizations providing support include The Alliance Defense Fund and the Family Research Council.

What they say.

James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family

"[Marriage equality will] destroy the family, which will destroy the nation, and I think eventually have a major impact on Western Civilization." (CNN's Larry King Live on September 5, 2003 - video at glaad.org)

Dr. Roberto Miranda, co-chairman of VoteOnMarriage.org

In his "Master Plan to reclaim the State of Massachusetts for Jesus Christ", Miranda likens marriage equality to the terrorist attacks of 9/11:

Is it exaggerated to see prophetic significance in the fact that on September 11, 2001 Boston served as the point of departure for the deadly forces that spread so much destruction and havoc in this nation and all over the world? What took place at the material level is now being carried out at the moral and spiritual level, as the virus of homosexuality and gay married [sic] begins to spread dramatically all over the nation and perhaps the world.

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