Opinion: Massachusetts Senate says ‘I do’ to gay marriage

Those who fought to repeal the 1913 statute said Tuesday that the move — together with the California court decision — could amplify political momentum nationwide. Hundreds of same-sex couples have taken their vows in California since June 16, when local jurisdictions began accepting civil marriage applications.’The California ruling was a wake-up call for Massachusetts,’ said Marc Solomon, campaign director of MassEquality, a coalition backing same-sex unions. ‘We had to remove the last vestige of marriage discrimination on the books here.’

[A]s he read the legal arguments, the 68-year-old moderate Republican was drawn by memory to a long ago trip he made with his European immigrant parents through the American South. There, the signs warning ‘No Negro’ or ‘No colored’ left ‘quite an indelible impression on me,’ he recalled in a wide-ranging interview Friday.’I think,’ he concluded, ‘there are times when doing the right thing means not playing it safe.’

Proponents of same-sex marriage are calling for a boycott of two prominent San Diego hotels because their owner, Doug Manchester, contributed more than $100,000 to the campaign for Proposition 8, the ballot measure that would amend the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.Although they expressed outrage about the boycott and a rally planned for Friday, opponents of gay marriage also immediately began using it in their fundraising appeals. ... Boycotts as part of political campaigns are relatively rare. It is a tactic more often employed by civil rights groups. The dust-up in San Diego — which follows a march last month against another Proposition 8 supporter, Carlsbad car-dealership owner Robert Hoehn -- is another indication that same-sex marriage is a combustible political topic and is viewed by gay marriage advocates as a civil rights issue.