Despite bitter cold, 3,000 rally in support of traditional marriage

Published: 2004-02-10

BOSTON (CNS) -- The bitter temperature and whipping wind did not stop nearly 3,000 supporters of traditional marriage from converging on Boston Common Feb. 8 to make it clear they oppose same-sex marriage. Cold but energized by their cause, they repeatedly chanted, "Let the people vote!" hoping to influence legislators still on the fence about their vote on a state constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. An initial vote was scheduled for Feb. 11 on the Marriage Affirmation and Protection Amendment, which must be approved in two consecutive sessions of the Legislature before it could appear on the ballot in 2006. At the rally, chanting filled every silence or pause. Speakers included Raymond L. Flynn, former ambassador to the Vatican; state Rep. Philip Travis, a Democrat who is chief sponsor of the marriage amendment; Sandy Rios, president of Concerned Women for America; retired state Supreme Judicial Court Justice Joseph R. Nolan; former state Attorney General Robert Quinn; and Boston Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley. Many of the speakers echoed each other, saying that the people of Massachusetts, not four unelected justices, should decide how marriage is defined in the commonwealth.

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