State House News Service 

MAY 18, 1999, BOSTON--Urging consideration for future generations of children, the niece of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called on Massachusetts lawmakers today to support legislation defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman. 

The Judiciary Committee will hear the bill this afternoon (H 472) modeled 
on the 1996 "Defense of Marriage Act," which was adopted in response to 
movements in Hawaii, Vermont and elsewhere to allow gays to marry.  Gay rights activists are expected to oppose the bill as "dangerous, divisive and destructive" and "driven by anti-gay animus," according to a press release. 

At a press conference at the Omni-Parker House Hotel, Alveda King and 
members of an interfaith coalition of religious leaders said the fabric of 
society is disintegrating, beginning with the dissolution of the traditional family unit. 

"It is shocking to know we have to defend the most important thing that 
sustains our future generations," King said.  "If we have no other reason 
for sustaining marriage as we know it, with a mother and a father, let it 
be for our children." 

The defenders of the traditional definition of marriage aren't motivated by 
"homophobia," but rather by concern for future generations of children, 
King said.  She also rejected analogies between modern discrimination 
against gays and historical oppression of blacks, saying blacks can't help 
their skin color but gays could change their behavior. 

"What we're talking about is our children, not fear or hatred," she said. "We're certainly not taking a stand against anything today.  We just want 
to support marriage, family and the children to come." 

The "ancient definition" of marriage as one man and one woman has been the same since "the beginning of civilization," said Bishop John McNamara, 
representing Cardinal Bernard Law and the Boston Archdiocese.  To tinker with it now, he said, would be "radical, unnecessary and dangerous" and 
would "trivialize the profound historical significance of the family." 

"Society itself is fostered by the harmonious presence of the family," 
McNamara said.  "Family is the basic unit of society and there's no reason 
to interfere, to change the definition of marriage." 

Rev. Stephen Chin of the Chinese Evangelical Church added, "Some things 
should change with time, but this is not one of them.  What we are trying 
to do is preserve what has been universally accepted for a millennium." 

Research shows that families with both a mother and a father produce 
healthier children, said Pastor Gilbert Thompson of the New Covenant 
Christian Church in Mattapan.  "Today the data is finally supporting the 
truth that believers in the Bible have known all along," he said. "Traditional, two-parent families made up of a man and a woman provide the best environment in which to raise children." 

Healthier children mean a healthier society, said Imam Talal Eid of the 
Islamic Center of New England.  "It is my belief and conviction that the 
disintegration of society is due to the disintegration of the family," he 
said. 

"Terrible consequences" could ensue if the state allows the redefinition of 
the family unit, warned Laraine Wright of the Mormon Church.  "Let us not 
do anything that would further encourage the breakdown of society," she said. 

Brian Camenker of Congregation Bnai Jacob in Newton appeared on behalf of Grand Rabbi Y.A. Korff and read a letter from the rabbi.  The letter indicated that people should accept homosexuals, but that the state should not sanction marriage between them. 

"They may be warm, loving and meaningful relationships, but these are not 
marriages that the Commonwealth should be involved with as certified 
marriages," Korff's letter states.  "Accept, understand, accommodate and be compassionate, but do not sanction or endorse by licensing anything but a union between a man and a woman as a marriage." 

Camenker added that the nature of homosexuality can't be debated in public because gay rights supporters "assault" people who disagree with them. 
"There is this sense of an assault by those who would deconstruct society 
in one way or another," he said.  "It's almost fearful to discuss it without being viciously treated by members of the press and others." 

Metropolitan Ephraim of the Holy Orthodox Church in North America echoed the notion of special recognition and privileges for people who make the formal commitment of marriage in the interest of raising children. 

"As one writer has noted, the honors of marriage were designed for those 
who are willing to make the commitment to each other, but most mportantly, to their children," the metropolitan said.  "This is crucial to our society.  Society should not confer on others the honors and benefits reserved for those who are bringing the next generation of children into the world." 

Massachusetts Family Institute President Matt Daniels said, "This would be 
a codification of hundreds of years of the status quo." 
 

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