I attended the rally for marriage on Boston Common this afternoon and while I'm often skeptical of the effectiveness of rallies, I was impressed with this one. Although it was one of the coldest days of the year, with a very cold wind chill caused by heavy winds, there was still a decent turnout. If it had been a warm spring day in May, the crowd would have been huge. As it was, the organizers estimated 2,000- 3,000 people and I think that’s about right. There were counter-demonstrators as well, of course. Across Tremont Street, a few hundred people gathered on the steps of a (non-Catholic) church for a counter-rally and about a dozen of them carrying signs stood directly behind the podium of our rally. Their signs said things like "Shame on you Sean" (referring to Archbishop O'Malley) and other hate-filled rantings. It's ironic that we're the ones accused of hatred, but it's the other side that manifested it. Meanwhile one speaker noted the irony that while we had several American flags spread throughout the crowd, the counter-protestors only brought their rainbow flags. We're fighting for our democracy and our nation's best interests. They're interested in their own individuals wants and desires.
To counter the signs behind the podium, the Knights of Columbus carrying the US, Vatican, and K of C flags, as well as groups of individuals made their way back there to stand in front of them. They were not treated kindly. One woman, a regular reader here, said she and her 65-year-old mother were mocked and insulted, heckled and called bigots. So much for the forces of compassion.
The picture to the right shows the warm up act. Local Catholic musician Bernie Choiniere and his band performed some songs before the event to keep everybody's blood pumping. One impression I had was that some people kept forgetting that even though the rally was organized by the "Your Catholic Voice" organization, it was an ecumenical gathering. A lot of references were made to the Catholics in the crowd, until someone told them to widen the application of their exhortations. A lot of groups were present: The seminarians from St. John’s Seminary were present with a large sign and a banner which they held in front of the counter-protesters, garnering a lot of abuse no doubt. I also saw plenty of Knights, the America First Party of Massachusetts, and the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property. Interestingly enough, there wasn't a single indentifiable group from Voice of the Faithful. I guess they only show up in organized ranks to protest in favor of their liberal agenda.
The speakers were very good. Fr. Tim Murphy gave the opening prayer and was followed by the introduction of four of the legislators who are sponsoring the constitutional amendment. The point they made, and which was repeated often, was that all we're asking is for the people to be allowed to decide whether to throw out a 5,000-year-old institution that spans all cultures and religions, rather than have it imposed on us by an unelected slate of judges. The chairman of the event, Phil Moran, welcomed the counter-protestors and said their presence proved our point that all we want is to have a public debate and a chance for the people of the Commonwealth to vote.
I have to say that I'm a little uncomfortable with that language. It implies that if a majority of people vote in favor of gay marriage, it somehow makes it permissible and valid. It's the same reasoning that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia gives when he says that if a majority of Americans voted for a law legalizing abortion, he'd uphold it. I'm no constitutional scholar, but I believe that it is possible to pass an amendment that would undermine the very fabric of the constitution and the society it is designed to protect and thus should not and could not be allowed.
To be fair, most of the speakers reiterated that gay marriage undermines the foundation of society, that it destroys the legal understanding of marriage's role in civilization, and that the constitution, in the words of John Adams, who authored the Massachusetts Constitution, is made for a moral and religious people, and is wholly inadequate for any other kind of people. Ray Flynn, president of the national Your Catholic Voice organization spoke, then a number of others including the president of Concerned Women for America—with 500,000 members, it's the largest women's public policy organization, much bigger than NOW—and Tony Perkins of Family Research Council. Both were excellent. Don Feder, the conservative Jewish syndicated columnist who used to write for the Boston Herald, received a rousing welcome and he provided quite a few neat turns of phrase. At the end was Archbishop Sean O'Malley. He's a very different kind of bishop. Most bishops show up to public events in their best black suits, as dapper as the politicians, head intentionally uncovered so as not to be mussed when interviewed on TV. The archbishop looked very much like a Franciscan would: black knit hat and a brown overcoat to match his brown habit. He was quite elegant if not as forceful and rousing as the others. He did recall that some accuse us hatred, when it is not hatred that impels us, but love and a desire to do what is in the common interest and benefits the common good. Protecting marriage benefits gay people, even if they don't realize it.
The event ended on time, we headed back to our bus and came home. The news reports I saw weren't bad. The local ABC affiliate said there were "hundreds" at the rally. The national broadcast was more accurate with the 2 to 3 thousand figure.
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