Massachusetts Lawmakers Won't Let Voters Decide Gay Marriage

The legislature of Massachusetts does not want the voters of their state to decide the issue of gay marriage:

BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts lawmakers blocked a proposed constitutional amendment Thursday that would have let voters decide whether to ban gay marriage in the only state that allows it.

"In Massachusetts today, the freedom to marry is secure," said a victorious Gov. Deval Patrick, who had lobbied lawmakers up until the final hours Thursday to kill the measure.

The narrow vote was a blow to efforts to reverse the historic court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the state. More than 8,500 gay couples have married there since it became legal in May 2004.

As the tally was announced, the halls of the Statehouse erupted in applause. The ban needed 50 votes to secure a place on the 2008 statewide ballot. It got 45, with 151 lawmakers opposed.

"We're proud of our state today, and we applaud the Legislature for showing that Massachusetts is strongly behind fairness," said Lee Swislow, executive director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders. ...

Raymond Flynn, the former Boston mayor and former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican who was the lead sponsor of the proposed amendment, said the 170,000 Massachusetts residents who signed the petition for the ban "had their vote stolen from them."

If the state is so concerned about fairness, wouldn't it be fairer to allow the voters to make that decision?

Of course not. Liberal legislators are always smarter than the voters and know what's best for them.

Yeah....right.