Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill today to repeal a 1913 law that prohibited couples from marrying in the state if their unions were not legal in their home states. Before he signed the bill, however, lawmakers added an "emergency" clause to it to prevent intervention from family advocates.
Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, said lawmakers created an "insurance policy to circumvent any possibility of the citizens in Massachusetts doing a petition to suspend this law."
The Massachusetts Constitution allows voters to conduct a petition drive within 90 days of the passage of a law. If enough signatures are gathered, the issue can go to the voters. In this case, however, the Legislature thwarted that possibility by declaring an emergency.
Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, called it a cheap political trick to once again prevent Massachusetts voters from weighing in on marriage.
"There was no 'emergency' here, other than the desire by homosexual activists to export gay 'marriage' across the nation as soon as possible," he said. "What these legislators did was an 'in-your-face' action designed to tell Massachusetts voters they are merely a hurdle to clear, not participants in the political process."
