Legislature Debates Gay Rights

Gay rights activists and lobbyists at the Massachusetts State House have something to smile about. Finally.

After 17 years of legislative struggle, the Gay Civil Rights Bill, being debated again today in the Senate as Bill H.5427, is closer to becoming law than ever before in its stormy history on Beacon Hill.

The bill, aimed at prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing or the granting of credit, passed the state House of Representatives just before last summer's legislative recess. Last Monday, it won a major procedural victory as the Senate Committee on Bills in the Third Reading passed it on to a vote before the fullSenate.

A simple majority of senators have pledgedtheir backing, and Gov. Michael S. Dukakis haspromised to sign it if it reaches his desk. Inaddition, the bill has garnered endorsements fromorganizations bearing such political punch as theBoston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Leagueof Women Voters and the state chapter of theNational Organization of Women.

"It has taken a long time to build up themomentum for victory," says Sen. Michael J.Barrett '70 (D-Cambridge), the bill's chiefsponsor in the Senate.

"It has a better chance than it ever had," saysDavid M. Osborne, an aide to Barrett. "But it'stoo early to be optimistic."

Ahead of the Crowd

Indeed while the time is ripe for the bill'spassage, it still faces powerful Senate opponents,numerous legislative hurdles and a belief held bysome conservative politicians that it representsan endorsement of "the homesexual lifestyle."

Similar obstacles did not deter Wisconsinlegislators from passing the only civil rightsstatutes against discrimination on the basis ofsexual orientation in the nation. Ten other statelegislatures are considering gay civil rightsbills, including Connecticut, Maine, New Jerseyand Vermont.

Attempts at halting housing discrimination inother states have already resulted ingroundbreaking decisions. This July, New York'shighest court was the first to give legalrecognition to gay partners by broadening thelegal defintion of "family" in a conflictinvolving rent control.

In a 4 to 2 ruling, the court allowed a gay manto remain in his deceased lover's New York Cityapartment despite city regulations that permitonly a surviving spouse and family members toinherit leases.

Later this summer, the San Francisco Board ofSupervisors passed the Domestic Partnership Law,making it the first major city in the country togive municipal recognition to any gay orheterosexual couple sharing a residence andwishing to declare their relationship. The law,however, is temporarily blocked by a petitioncontaining 27,000 signatures opposing it.

Barrett says Massachusetts is traditionally aleader in liberal agenda-setting for the nation.

"Massachusetts has always been ahead of thecrowd. Fights have always been hard, but in theend we still wind up ahead of the rest of thecountry," says Barrett.

Formidable Opposition

But the Cambridge senator repeats that backers'optimism must be tempered, and that the fight ishardly over.

Although the bill as it stands has majoritySenate support, in the past a few powerfulsenators have used legislative maneuvering andcommittees to slow its passage.

Many supporters had feared that Sen. William"Biff" MacLean (D-Fairhaven), chair of theCommittee on Bills, would block the committee'spassage of the bill to the Senate floor until thelegislative session ended. MacLean's predecessor,Sen. Arthur J. Lewis (D-Jamaica Plains), was astaunch opponent of gay rights legislation andsuccessfully killed a similar bill with suchmethods two years ago.

The bill now still faces formidable oppositionfrom Senate President William M. Bulger(D-Boston), who wields considerable power in theSenate.

Opponents might also attempt to weigh down thelegislation with amendments to slow its passageor, in the event of considerable change, force thebill into a conference committee between House andSenate. Any resulting compromise would stillrequire passage by both houses in a finalenactment vote.

"The bill exposed a lot of real distortions ofthe basic democratic process," says DavidLaFontaine, lobbying director for the Coalitionfor Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights.

"What's going to bring it to victory is ourgrassroots pressure, especially in Cambridge," hesays.

According to LaFontaine, legislators likeBarrett, House Majority Leader Rep. Charles F.Flaherty (D-Cambridge) and Sen. Michael LoPresti(D-Boston) helped bring about last week's releaseof the bill from MacLean's committee, a majorlandmark in the fight to get H.5427 on the books.

"It's really a tremendous step forward. We'rereal confident that it will pass this session,"said Brian P. Murphy '86-'87, an aide to Sen. LoisG. Pines (D-Newton), a co-sponsor of the bill.

But opposition lies in other quarters as well.

Sen. Edward P. Kirby (R-Whitman) has pledged todo everything in his power to stop the bill. Theconservative senator has argued that a gay rightsbill would inappropriately duplicate the effectsof affirmative action.

"It's a harmful bill that will, in effect,promote affirmative action for practioners of acertain lifestyle," Kirby says.

"If homosexuals telegraph their sexualorientation to the person they are dealing with,that person has to be very careful with peoplethey are turning down," Kirby says. "It's going tobe a conscious decision to say, 'Okay, I'll rent,I'll hire, I'll lend' to avoid being broughtbefore the Commission Against Discrimination."

The question of enforcement itself--by theMassachusetts Commission Against Discrimination(MCAD), the state agency responsible forinvestigating reported cases ofdiscrimination--raises other problems.

The commission suffered from the $491 millionin budget cuts ordered by Dukakis for fiscal year1990. Eight of its employees have been laid off,says Judith K. Wright, press liaison for MCAD.

"If their mission is expanded at the same timetheir budget is cut, it will be very problematic,"says Kevin Cathcart, ex-director of the Gay andLesbian Advocates and Defenders. "The next testwill be to make sure that enforcement is not onlyin place on paper but actually exists in ameaningful way," he adds.

Outweighing the Pressure

Yet supporters said they feel that the good thebill will do outweighs the pressure employers,renters or lenders may feel about dealing withgays and lesbians.

They also say that many opponents confuseH.5427 for an affirmative action plan for gays andlesbians, which it is not.

"We feel it is a matter of simple justice. Thisis a civil rights issue and nothing else," saysScott P. O'Bryan, an aide for Rep. Mark Roosevelt(D-Boston), who co-sponsored the House version ofthe bill.

"All we're doing is adding `sexual orientation'to the list of categories of people who may not bediscriminated against in some of the most basicelements of our lives," adds O'Bryan.

"All kinds of characterizations have been madeabout the bill," Barrett says. "It simply says youcan't discriminate" on the basis of sexualorientation, he added.

Barrett says that H.5427 is also not intendedto condone homosexuality. "Gay people don't give adamn if the legislature endorses their lives. Theyjust want to be free from the reach of otherpeople's bigotry," he says.

The Senate could also move to send the bill toreferendum, giving voters the power to decide thelegislation's future. While some representativessaid they did not feel civil rights issues shouldbe decided by ballot, LaFontaine says he isconfident the bill would win in Massachusetts butadds, "It would be a very costly effort for us."

On a local level, the bill has drawn vocalsupport from gay and lesbian advocacy groups. TheCoalition for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights plansto sponsor a rally tomorrow of up to 1000 peopleon the steps of the State House.

Barrett and Roosevelt, along with several otherstate and city officials, are scheduled to speak.Harvard's Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian StudentAssociation (BGLSA) plans to send a contigent tojoin the rally.

"The organization is in support of anythingthat is working for equality," says Lilly S.Khadjavi '90. BGLSA vice chair. "[The bisexual,gay and lesbian community] is a group againstwhich there has been much discrimination," sheadds.

The campus group, Defeat Homophobia, is alsovery much interested in the results of the Senateproceedings.

"One of our goals this year is to integrate theHarvard gay community into the Greater Boston gaycommunity," says an undergraduate member of DefeatHomophobia.

"For the first time we're looking to motivatemembers of the Harvard gay community to enter thefight for gay rights at the state and nationallevels." adds the student, who did not give hisname.State Rep. MICHAEL F. FLAHERTY