Opponents of same-sex unions who have spent recent months collecting thousands of signatures on a petition for a statewide constitutional ban on gay marriage celebrated their progress at the State House on Wednesday, the deadline for signatures for any ballot questions.
Thousands of volunteers in the 351 towns and cities across Massachusetts worked to collect nearly 148,000 — about 80,000 more than the required minimum — validated signatures in 60 days, exceeding their goal of 120,000 signatures.
After a signature drive that was at one point marred by allegations of unethical gathering tactics, supporters of the amendment said they were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm that signatories showed. What began as a grassroots effort, they said, resulted in the collection of nearly 170,000 signatures, but some have not yet been validated.
The boxes, filled with petitions, were delivered in installments, and today’s press conference marked the third and final installment in Boston, which included about one-third of the validated petitions.
Supporters of the petition said the ballot initiative campaign in Boston was one of the most successful in the state. Holding signs that read “Let the People Vote” and wearing stickers advertising the website VoteOnMarriage.org, supporters said that marriage should be limited to one man and one woman.
Evelyn Reilly, a coordinator of the movement to collect the signatures, said petitioners spent months on the project, and the volunteers “were always there.” Everyone involved shared the same “sense of accomplishment,” Reilly said.
Coordinators noted that there were certain allegations involving volunteers who received compensation for their efforts, but Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute and spokesman for VoteOnMarriage.org, said he was “not worried [because] paid gatherers played a minor role.”
Mineau acknowledged that gay marriage is a big issue, particularly in Massachusetts.
“Marriage is what people hold dear in the Commonwealth,” he said. “Let the people vote.”
Mineau said this is a “tremendous time of celebration,” because so many people were more than happy to sign the petition, and many were also willing to appear on the website in support of the ban.
Mineau touted the website for increasing people’s awareness about the movement to ban gay marriage. On VoteOnMarriage.org, people can download and fill out petitions, sign up to become volunteers and download informational documents.
VoteOnMarriage.org acknowledges Catholic Citizenship, a Catholic grassroots group, for providing much of the support they received.
The signatures will be presented to Secretary of State William Galvin in January. The proposal will be considered at the May 10 constitutional convention next year. For the question to appear on the ballot in 2008, the amendment must receive at least 50 votes in two successive legislative sessions.
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