Massachusetts Court Clears Way to Ban Same-Sex Marriage

BOSTON, July 10 -- The same court that made Massachusetts the first state to legalize same-sex marriage ruled Monday that the state legislature and voters can decide whether to ban such unions in the future through a constitutional amendment.

Supporters of gay rights tried to block the proposal by arguing in a lawsuit that the state constitution bars any citizen-initiated amendment that seeks to reverse a judicial ruling.

The Supreme Judicial Court rejected that argument, ruling unanimously that the measure is not a reversal of its earlier ruling legalizing same-sex marriage because it would leave intact the marriages of same-sex couples who already had wed.

The state legislature will now take up the question in a constitutional convention Wednesday. Two consecutive legislative sessions have to approve the proposal, which would restrict marriage to between one man and one woman, before it could be placed on the 2008 ballot. Supporters need to win the votes of 50 lawmakers -- 25 percent of the legislature -- in both sessions.

The same court, in a landmark 2003 ruling, cleared the way for same-sex marriage to begin in Massachusetts in May 2004. More than 8,000 gay and lesbian couples have married.

The legislature has been grappling with the marriage issue since.