Massachusetts court allows proposal to ban gay marriage

BOSTON – The same court that made Massachusetts the first state to legalize same-sex marriage ruled Monday that a proposal for a constitutional amendment that could ban future gay marriages can move forward.

The ruling came on a lawsuit brought by gay-rights supporters who argued that Attorney General Tom Reilly was wrong to certify the question because the state’s constitution bars any citizen-initiated amendment that seeks to reverse a judicial ruling.

The Supreme Judicial Court rejected that argument, paving the way for the state Legislature to take up the question during a constitutional convention Wednesday. The question would have to be approved by two consecutive legislative sessions before it could be placed on the 2008 ballot. Supporters need to win the votes of 50 lawmakers in both sessions.

More than 8,000 same-sex couples have married since a 2003 ruling allowed the marriages to begin in May 2004.

In its unanimous ruling Monday, the high court said the proposed amendment is not a reversal of its earlier ruling because it would leave intact the marriages of couples who already had wed.

But Justice John M. Greaney, in a concurring opinion, warned that approving the amendment would clearly be discriminatory because it would remove the rights of same-sex couples to receive the legal, social and financial benefits of marriage.

Also on Monday, a California appeals court heard arguments over whether that state’s ban on same-sex marriage should be upheld. The state is appealing a San Francisco judge’s decision last year that cleared the way for California to allow same-sex couples to wed.

The three-judge panel has 90 days to issue a ruling, but any decision is expected to be appealed to the California Supreme Court.