Two Democratic and two Republican lawmakers in Massachusetts – whose election platforms included preserving traditional marriage – voted against a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
The amendment was defeated 45-151 by a joint session of the Legislature, eliminating any chance of getting it on the 2008 ballot. It needed 50 votes to pass.
Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, said a dozen lawmakers who had indicated they would support the amendment did not. But four – Republican Reps. Richard Ross and Paul Loscocco and Democratic Reps. Angelo Puppolo and Geraldo Alicea – were elected because of their campaign promises to support the amendment.
"They stood on that – that they were going to let the people vote," Mineau said. "Then, at the last minute, they turned around and denied the people."
Alicea said he wasn't lying to voters during last year's election.
"That's what I believed at that point," he told The Boston Globe.
Ross said his decision was difficult.
"I hope people won't be one-issue people and will look at my total record and understand that at the core I am a very good Republican," he said. "If they think they have someone who can represent their interests better, it's certainly their prerogative and choice."
Mineau said lawmakers are supposed to do just that: represent the interests of the people who elected them. But these four did not.
"They're going to have to answer to their constituents for that – plain and simple," he said.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Learn more about the battle for marriage in the Bay State at the Massachusetts Family Institute Web site.
