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As an openly gay man who has faced
discrimination, I take issues that affect the LGBT community very
personally. I have been an outspoken advocate on marriage equality in
the Commonwealth and worked hard to temper the Republican
dissemination of hateful anti-gay propaganda. Recently, for
example, I successfully urged the Cambridge City Council to publicly
support Carl Sciortino’s transgender anti-discrimination bill. I find
it hard to fathom that our Commonwealth, which prides itself on being
a champion of civil liberties, does not protect transgender
individuals from discrimination and hate crimes. I will continue
to be an ardent advocate for equal rights and fundamental dignity.
The Constitution affirms the dignity and
equality of all individuals and forbids the creation of second-class
citizens. The right to marry means little if it does not include the
right to marry the person of one's choice. Furthermore, marriage
provides important protections to couples and their children,
especially health care. The children of gay and lesbian couples
deserve equal protection, and those protections should not be put at
risk in a public vote. Although attempts to place a Constitutional
amendment banning same-sex marriage have been frustrated for now, the
battle over this issue is not over. I will work hard to erase a 1913
law that restricts marriage equality to residents of Massachusetts and
continue to be an outspoken opponent to placing any constitutional
amendment that would ban or impair marriage rights for same-sex
couples.
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