E-Mail This Article to a Friend Gaining ground Add three votes to the pro-gay-marriage column BY DEIRDRE FULTON
	Related links MassEquality One of the most powerful equal-marriage organizations in Massachusetts, with affiliates throughout the state. Freedom To Marry Coalition Another influential pro-marriage group, fighting to win at the constitutional convention. Article 8 Alliance For an idea of what the anti-gay-marriage side says, visit this organization’s Web site.

GAY-MARRIAGE SUPPORTERS gained practical and symbolic ground in Tuesday’s special-election primaries, after voters elected three decidedly pro-marriage candidates to fill seats previously held by adamantly anti-gay-marriage legislators.

To replace the notoriously anti-gay former House Speaker Tom Finneran in the 12th Suffolk District of Dorchester, Mattapan, and Milton, voters chose Linda Dorcena Forry; she faces no general-election opponent. In the 18th Suffolk District, comprising a chunk of Allston-Brighton and a tiny slice of Brookline, Michael Moran won the seat previously held by the socially conservative Democrat Brian Golden; Moran’s independent challenger in the general election also supports marriage. And in Pittsfield’s Democratic primary, pro-marriage candidate Christopher Speranzo got one step closer to filling a seat formerly occupied by Peter Larkin, one of 12 legislators to file last-ditch lawsuits to block gay marriage last year. Speranzo will face a weak anti-marriage opponent in the general election.

"The bases were loaded with equality candidates, and the voters hit a home run," said Josh Friedes, advocacy director of the Freedom To Marry Coalition.

For activists, the victories signify much more than simply three more votes in the legislature against the proposed state-constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage in Massachusetts while providing for civil unions. (The amendment will be put to a vote at this session’s constitutional convention.) The results also highlight the increasing political expediency of supporting equal rights — and they serve as reminders that there’s still a battle ahead.

On March 29, 2004, in the waning hours of last year’s constitutional convention (ConCon), legislators approved the civil-union "compromise amendment" by a vote of 105 to 92. If the amendment, proposed by Senate president Robert Travaglini and Senator Brian Lees, passes this session’s ConCon, it would land on the ballot in November 2006, when voters would decide its fate.

Travaglini has indicated the convention might happen this fall. But even with new guaranteed pro-marriage legislators headed to the State House, it is next to impossible to predict how the vote would go if Travaglini were to call the ConCon tomorrow.

Still, it’s safe to say gay-marriage supporters have made significant advances in the past year. They earned an important leadership ally in the State House when Representative Sal DiMasi (who strongly backs equal marriage rights) became House Speaker. They made net gains and wielded impressive political influence in the November elections. These days, endorsements from groups such as MassEquality, the Freedom To Marry Coalition, or even the recently established DotOUT translate into grassroots organizing potential, money, and "a lot of people who are focused on the big picture of preserving equal marriage rights," says MassEquality political director Marc Solomon.

Perhaps the biggest accomplishment for pro-marriage forces is the simple fact that since May 17, 2004, there have been more than 4500 same-sex marriages in the state. That’s more than 9000 individuals enjoying their freedom, with no sign of the resulting chaos that gay-marriage foes predicted. All this bodes well for pro-marriage forces. But there’s much to be done.

For Friedes, the Brighton race — where openly gay candidate Tim Schofield (who had been endorsed by both MassEquality and Freedom To Marry) lost by a thin margin — served as a wake-up call. Luckily, voters ended up with another staunchly pro-marriage candidate in Moran, he said. But "it should remind the civil-rights community how easy it is to lose by just a few votes" — votes that will be critical during the ConCon.

"The truth of the matter is, we don’t have the votes today [to defeat the amendment]," Friedes says. "We’re much further away than people realize. The incredibly rapid success of the equality movement in Massachusetts is having the negative effect of people saying, ‘Oh, I don’t have to be as active.’ "

And there’s much that requires action. While the organizing potential of pro-marriage folks is formidable, the special elections also highlighted the tenacious willingness of opposition forces to smear equal-marriage candidates. Take the Waltham-based Article 8 Alliance, which distributed inflammatory fliers last weekend, backing 12th Suffolk candidate Kerby Roberson and attacking Dorcena Forry and Stacey Monahan for their pro-marriage stances. On the Article 8 Web site, Dorcena Forry is called a "sell-out" to the gay community; Schofield is described as a "gay activist, endorsed by homo PACs." Article 8 had this to say about the Pittsfield race: "What a sorry state of affairs!" The organization backed write-in candidate Rinaldo Del Gallo, because "the three other Democrats are completely gonzo on this issue."

When the ConCon rolls around, we can expect even-more-vigorous efforts from groups like Article 8 (though president Brian Camenker says his group will oppose the amendment because it permits civil unions). Usual suspects such as the Massachusetts Family Institute will also weigh in.

In the meantime, pro-marriage forces will ride their success into the spring and summer, encouraging gays, lesbians, and their straight allies to contact legislators and tell their stories. They hope to harness the continued momentum of the pro-equality movement during the next phase of the gay-marriage fight: convincing legislators to change their positions and vote against the amendment.

Tuesday’s sweep indicates that "people in Massachusetts are getting it," Solomon says. "It continues what began transpiring in September and November. Voters are very receptive to pro-equality messages from candidates."

"Increasingly," Friedes agrees, "support for gay marriage isn’t only the right thing to do, but it’s the politically smart thing to do."

Deirdre Fulton can be reached at dfulton[a]phx.com