SSM IN RACE FOR FORMER MASS. HOUSE SPEAKER'S SEAT: From the Boston Globe

In the back room of a Dorchester watering hole, cordoned off by a screen and a "room closed" sign, five candidates for state representative nervously explained their positions on same-sex marriage to a neighborhood group of gays and lesbians.

One candidate said he has no problem with gay marriage but believes the Supreme Judicial Court overstepped its powers in legalizing it. Another candidate said she would protect gays' and lesbians' right to marry, while a third said only that she "doesn't want to introduce prejudice into the state constitution." A fourth reluctantly supports gay marriage, while the fifth would support civil unions for gay couples but not marriage.

In the race for the seat of former House speaker Thomas M. Finneran, the issue has become of central importance to the candidates. All five showed up at the DotOUT meeting at the Harp & Bard last week, where an endorsement and a pledge of campaign workers were up for grabs. In a field of five Democrats with strikingly similar positions on nearly every other subject, same-sex marriage has emerged as a distinguishing issue. ...

The race is also critical for groups supporting gay marriage that hope to defeat a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would strip gays and lesbians of the right to marry but allow civil unions. The amendment was approved by the Legislature with 105 votes in the spring four more votes than it needed for passage but must clear the Legislature a second time in order to go before voters.

Gay marriage supporters, who want to kill the amendment, now have a chance to pick up three more seats in special elections scheduled April 12, including the seat held by Finneran, a strong gay-marriage opponent. The March 15 party primary will be crucial in the Democrat-dominated district.

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posted by Eve at 2:00 AM VOTE

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