I've been hesitant to report on the convention while it is still going on, but I guess a quick summary of yesterday's events is warranted. Senate President Travaglini, who chairs the convention, had planned to put forward an amendment that would ban SSM, guarantee a Vermont style civil union, and (should the amendment be ratified) retroactively convert all same-sex marriages in Mass to civil unions. As a courtesy he started the convention by givining the floor to House Speaker Finneran, who surprised everyone by introducing an amendment that would ban SSM, and give the legislature (the General Court) the right to pass whatever sort of civil union it saw fit. This angered several people who thought Finneran was abusing the courtesy Travaglini gave him. Governor Romeny, though, got behind the amendment, but it failed 100-98. Then Travaglini proposed his version as described above. Most SSM advocates had been opposed to this amendment, but at the last minute most (but not all) swung their support to the amendment in the hopes of preventing anything worse and with the plans of trying to defeat it next year before it would get on the ballot. Amendments in Mass need to be passed by a majority at the convention in two successive years and then ratified by a simple majority by the people in the third year.
The convention then recessed for the night. Today it seems both sides will basically try again offering the same or very similar amendments to those defeated yesterday. We'll see what happens.
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