Gays may have short-lived chance to wed

WITH one chapter closed in Massachusetts’ gay marriage debate, several new ones open, as gay couples look ahead to what may be a short-lived chance to tie the knot and lawmakers prepare for crucial November elections.

Legislators approved a constitutional amendment on Monday that would ban gay marriages while legalising civil unions. If passed during the next two-year legislative session, the measure would go before voters in November 2006.

The move comes even as the nation’s first State-sanctioned gay marriages are scheduled to begin in mid-May, as ordered by a November ruling of the State’s Supreme Judicial Court. Attention now turns to the autumn elections, when lawmakers will have to defend their votes on the contentious social issue and fend off attempts to change the makeup of the legislature.