House Bill 1710: Recognition of Out-of-State Same-Sex Marriages

Sponsor:
Representatives Byron Rushing (D), Martha M. Walz (D), Carl M. Sciortino, Jr. (D), Barbara A. L'Italien (D), Rachel Kaprielian (D), David Paul Linsky, Timothy J. Toomey, Jr. (D), Matthew C. Patrick (D), Peter V. Kocot (D), Louis L. Kafka (D), Elizabeth A. Malia (D), Michael E. Festa (D), Ruth B. Balser (D), Gloria L. Fox (D), Theodore C. Speliotis (D), William N. Brownsberger (D), Benjamin Swan (D), John W. Scibak (D), Kay Khan (D), Douglas W. Petersen (D), Alice K. Wolf (D), Sarah K. Peake (D), and Denise Provost (D)

Senators Edward M. Augustus, Jr. (D), Patricia D. Jehlen (D), and Stanley C. Rosenberg (D)

Summary:
House Bill 1710 would change Massachusetts statutes to allow homosexual marriage. (Currently, only a Massachusetts court decision “allows” homosexual marriage; a change in the statute would officially legalize it. For more information on this issue visit www.massresistance.org.

Status:

1/10/2007		(House) Filed
1/10/2007		(House) Referred to Joint Committee on Education
1/10/2007		(Senate) Senate concurred in committee referral
3/4/2008		Public Hearing, 1:00 p.m., A-1
3/19/2008		(House) Accompanied study order Joint Committee on Judiciary

HSLDA's Position:
Oppose. House Bill 1710 is an attack on the traditional interpretation of parental rights, on which the right to homeschool is based. Parental rights are derived from a number of sources, including “western civilization concepts of the family as a union of a man and a woman with broad parental authority over minor children…” [See U.S. Supreme Court case Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000)]. An attack on these concepts erodes parental rights and the foundation for home education.

Action Requested:
None at this time.

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