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 BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts' highest court said Wednesday it has no authority to force lawmakers to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. But it rebuked the Legislature for its "indifference to, or defiance of, its constitutional duties."
The unanimous 7-0 ruling — and the stinging reproach — leave the fate of the amendment up in the air in the only state that allows gay marriage.
Opponents of gay marriage have collected 170,000 signatures in favor of an amendment to end the practice. But the measure needs the Legislature's approval to appear on the 2008 ballot, and lawmakers refused to vote on the proposal last month. Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican expected to run for president in 2008, and other opponents of gay marriage responded by suing to try to force the lawmakers to act.
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