Same-Sex Marriage Remains Legal in Massachusetts

On Thursday, the Massachusetts Legislature voted to suppress a proposed state constitutional amendment that would limit the legal definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman. State lawmakers decided, in a 151 to 45 vote, to keep the amendment off of voting ballots for 2008. According to the Associated Press, "[t]he ban needed 50 votes in consecutive sessions of the 200-seat Legislature to secure a place on the 2008 statewide ballot. At the end of the last session in January it passed with 62 votes, but this time it garnered just 45." Thursday's decision by state lawmakers means that the proposed amendment cannot make it to state ballots before 2010.

• AP News: Gay Marriage to Remain Legal in Mass.
• Same-Sex Couples and the Law (FindLaw)