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Editorial Those who worked to bring us the gay marriage decision of November 18 are now desperately trying to quickly carve it in stone before anyone gets a chance to consider the matter or read the new book by J. Edward Pawlick, attorney for Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage and Publisher of MassNews. They include: Chief Justice Margaret Marshall; Pinch Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times and the Boston Globe; and Senate President Robert Travaglini, who has taken the hot seat from Tom Birmingham, last year's President who was retired by the people for his role in the gay marriage scandal. Sulzberger and the Globe are in charge of the management of this issue. No one else has a big enough megaphone to totally manage the news as they do. The SJC decision was a 3-3 tie with Marshall casting the deciding vote to make it a razor-thin 4-3 ruling. It has been totally excluded from any discussion that the three dissenters say Marshall does not have the power to make this ruling. Those three judges are not rightwing "kooks." They are Justices on the Supreme Judicial Court. Should we not contemplate that for a while? After all, no debate was allowed on the Protection of Marriage Amendment because the Boston Globe urged the Legislature to just ignore it on July 17, 2002. And Margaret Marshall allowed practically no debate at all before her decision of Nov. 18. If Marshall does not have the power, what should be our reaction? Can we think about that for a while, please? Speaker Tom Finneran has noted that the legislature has until May to act. He has wondered whether they should just ignore Marshall's ruling and see what happens - which makes it extremely puzzling, or totally obvious, why these people are in such a hurry. Pawlick points out that his book reveals the total tapestry of the Nov. 18 ruling which occurred only a month ago. And it clearly is an interwoven tapestry. He says that limited numbers of "collector" copies of the book will be in the hands of thousands of subscribers later in December, and a full supply will be available for everyone before the end of January. "It's nice to know we've instilled fear into their hearts, but that's not what we're about," he says. "We merely want to keep our traditional marriage to help and protect the children of the state as the three judges said when they voted against Margaret Marshall. It is sad that she has never known the joy, and tribulations, of being a parent and grandparent." The "collector" edition has been printed without corrections in order to get it out so quickly. Pawlick said that there aren't many books that are printed within a month of an event. Inasmuch as many people have been requesting copies quickly, the decision was made to do it this way. It is clear why Pinch Sulzberger is one of those in
a hurry because he is already under heavy fire for the disgrace
he brought upon the New York Times earlier this year, for the first
time in its history, over the Jayson Blair tragedy. He needs to
contain this scandal, because he will be removed from his position
if he doesn't.
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