Media Watch
Boston Globe Gets Ugly Over Marriage Amendment

Upset that Amendment Went ‘Over the Top’

Battle over gay marriage petition gets ugly (Boston Globe)
Earlier related stories

January 2002

The Boston Globe got ugly about the marriage amendment last month when it first realized that the measure was going “over the top.”

It printed a headline on the front page of Section B, “Battle over gay marriage petition gets ugly.”

In a biased story, the paper complained that voters did not fully understand the petition. Some were signing it without realizing exactly what they were doing.

But this led the people in favor of the measure to reply that even if this were true (they did not believe that it was), the Boston Globe was the responsible party since it had refused to print any information about the amendment. It had been difficult for those in favor to understand why the Globe had a blackout on the story other than that they hoped it would die.

When the news broke that over 85,000 voters had signed the Petition, the Globe realized it had to remove its blackout. It did so in this “ugly” manner, which totally distorted the facts.

The opponents to the amendment knew it would pass if the voters had their say. The Globe quoted one of those opponents as saying, “We’re trying to stop it from getting on the ballot because we’re afraid voters will approve it.”

Battle Being Fought

The opponents had been sending “blockers” all over the state to harass people and stop them from signing. Somehow the Globe portrayed this in the following way:

“The fiercest battle over gay rights in Massachusetts in more than a decade is being fought face to face at neighborhood supermarkets, shopping malls and T stops, often in a less than civil manner.”

But those in favor of the amendment say that if a “battle” was being fought, it was only because the homosexual activists had been seeking a confrontational physical battle in an attempt to intimidate the voters of the state.

MassNews had published many pictures of harassers across the state who thrust their faces into those of voters who were trying to exercise their legal rights. But the Globe ignored those stories because they were happy in the thought that the illegal activities of their allies were being successful and that the petition was going down to defeat.

It was only after it became obvious that the petition drive was successful that the Globe acknowledged it – in this ugly manner.

If anyone reads the Globe story (by Stephanie Ebbert) in a careful manner and analyzes it, it is obvious that the Globe was unable to find anything about which to complain. But the entire tone of the story, beginning with the headline, gave a much different impression.

The paper admitted that “gay rights activists tailed the group, trying to dissuade the public from signing.”

It quoted the chairwoman of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, Arline Isaacson, “Leading up to the vote it’s so ugly and it frequently degenerates into antigay rhetoric, antigay violence, and people are really worried about that.”

But it was said that Isaacson and her friends had made it ugly and confrontational. And now the Globe was helping.

Despite the confrontations, the proponents of the amendment showed extreme restraint in the face of the harassment by their opponents. It led many to believe that Isaacson was hoping that there would be violence as a result of her activities which she and the Globe could label as “antigay violence.”

Distorted the Truth

The Globe story quoted in an approving manner a statement that the amendment “could threaten health benefits offered to same-sex partners and their children.”

But one must notice the use of the word “could,” because this statement was at best a wild exaggeration of the amendment.

Although the proponents of the amendment had attempted to educate voters on the implications of the amendment, the Globe had refused to cooperate in that effort at all. Now that it is has become evident to them that this is going to be a long, three-year debate on the subject (it will be on the ballot in November 2004), the Globe has already indicated that it is not going to participate in any meaningful way, which is sad. It is not an unbiased source, it is one of the players.

Battle over gay marriage petition gets ugly (Boston Globe)
Petitions for Marriage Go ‘Over-the-Top’
Dirty Tricks Will Continue Indefinitely Against Amendment
Homosexual Activists Violate Voters’ Rights