Six by Twelve

Gay marriage backers target New England Foes brace for a fight
Valerie Richardson
Sunday, January 4, 2009

Two New England states have already legalized same-sex marriage, and a Boston-based advocacy group wants to see the other four join them. Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, known as GLAD, has launched a first-of-its-kind regional campaign aimed at winning approval for same-sex marriage in the six-state New England region by 2012.

Same-sex marriage is already legal in Connecticut and Massachusetts, a result of court decisions in cases brought by GLAD lawyers. The 2003 Massachusetts decision was the first in the nation, while the Connecticut ruling went into effect Nov. 12.

"We can make New England a marriage-equality zone by strategically combining existing legal, electoral and on-the-ground know-how to fast-track marriage in every New England state," GLAD Executive Director Lee Swislow said. "By 2012, we not only can have marriage equality throughout New England, we can have a road map for the rest of the country."

But proponents of traditional marriage say the organization may be setting itself up for defeat. Even in liberal New England, persuading four more states to sign off on same-sex marriage won't be a slam dunk, especially if it involves moving through the state legislatures, said Peter Sprigg, vice president for policy at the Family Research Council. "I'm skeptical that they'll be able to win same-sex marriage in all six states by 2012. Public opinion continues to be much more resistant than homosexual activists are willing to admit," Mr. Sprigg said. "We saw that in California with Proposition 8."

Indeed, the gay-marriage movement is still smarting from its stinging defeat in November, when California voters passed Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment that overturned a state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. That wasn't the impetus behind Six by Twelve. The campaign is pegged to the fifth anniversary of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts case. But advocates did say it was important to remain active in Proposition 8's aftermath.

"The timing [after Proposition 8] wasn't part of the plan, because the plan for Six by Twelve preceded Proposition 8. But I can see how folks would get comfort from this after what happened in California," said Alison Cashin, GLAD's manager of public education. "It's a big defeat, but California is one state."
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I love the idea of Six By Twelve, and I don't think the recent passage of H8 in California has much to do with this movement.

First of all, we've seen gay marriage legalized in Massachusetts in 2003, and Connecticut on November 12, 2008, without the interference of Mormon dollars and anti-gay fear-mongering. And I haven't heard of civilization coming to an end, or of any straight marriage suddenly deemed 'less than.' I don't believe they are teaching Queer 101 in the schools, and no one has spontaneously burst into flames. So maybe the good people of the Northeast are doing something right; setting an example.

Now as for Mr. Sprigg of the Family Research Council: Please stop the use of the words 'traditional marriage.' Marriage has continually evolved from a polygamist ideal 5,000 years ago to where it stands today--for the time being; it is anything but traditional because no two marriages are alike. And please, refrain from the use of the word 'homosexual' because we all know that by using that word you put all the emphasis, everything that gay people are, and do, and feel, into sex. We aren't just about the sex, Mr. Sprigg, we're about equality.

I think Six By Twelve could become a movement; it could become Fifty By It's About Damn Time!