The Supreme Court of Massachusetts on Wednesday raised the ante in the United States’s culture wars, ruling that gays and lesbians are entitled to full, equal marriage rights and that less politically explosive alternatives — such as civil unions — are unconstitutional.
The ruling sets the stage for a showdown next week when Massachusetts state legislators are due to consider a proposal from the Republican governor to enact a constitutional ban on gay marriage.
The milestone verdict — the latest in a series of court victories for the gay rights movement — also ignites what promises to be one of the most divisive issues of the election campaign.
President George Bush, seeking to shore up support from the Christian right, has said he is considering whether to amend the Constitution to protect the traditional definition of marriage, and the Massachusetts verdict puts additional pressure on him to act.
Wednesday’s ruling marked the Massachusetts court’s second intervention on the issue of gay rights since November, when it ruled for seven couples seeking the right to marry.
Mary Bonauto, a spokesperson for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, which brought the original suit, said the verdict represents a reaffirmation of principle over practicality.
”The court looked at this issue as a matter of principle, not of politics,” she said.
The November judgement gave the legislature six months to amend state laws, which means gay and lesbian couples could begin celebrating their weddings in Massachusetts from May.
But the ruling did not distinguish between marriage and civil unions, which have been legal in Vermont since 1999. It was thought the court might avoid a head-on confrontation with Republican Governor Mitt Romney and church leaders in this predominantly Catholic state by following Vermont’s example.
Instead, the Massachusetts judges ruled that civil unions fall short of giving lesbian and gay couples equal rights with married heterosexuals, and are therefore unconstitutional.
The justices wrote: ”The history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal.”
Wednesdays decision was attacked by Romney, who has vowed to seek a referendum banning gay marriage.
”We’ve heard from the court, but not from the people,” he said.
But he might not welcome the findings of opinion polls, which show considerable support for gay marriage. A referendum cannot be held until 2006 — two years after the first same-sex marriages will have taken place. — Guardian Unlimited Â