Same-sex marriage foes sue lawmakers
By Megan Tench, Globe Staff
December 14, 2006

Lawyers from a group opposing gay marriage filed a $5 million federal lawsuit against 109 state lawmakers yesterday accusing them of violating the US Constitution when they refused to decide whether to put a ban on gay marriage on the 2008 ballot.

Proponents of the same-sex marriage ban collected a record 170,000 signatures in December 2005 in hopes of getting the amendment on the ballot. But to qualify for a statewide referendum, the measure requires the support of at least 50 legislators in two consecutive sessions.

On Nov. 9, when the Legislature met in joint session as Constitutional Convention lawmakers voted, 109 to 87, to recess before taking a vote on whether to put the proposed amendment on the ballot. the rest