Sealing the deal on Marriage Equality

[Ian David]

Sealing the deal
Laura Kiritsy
[email protected]

Though he attends Mass every Sunday, State Rep. Paul Kujawski confesses he was a little nervous as he walked through the doors of his Roman Catholic parish this past weekend. Just days before, Kujawski had cast a vote against an anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment, a controversial about-face from his vote in favor of the amendment back in January. His change of heart put him in direct opposition to the Catholic hierarchy, which has long lobbied against marriage equality. There was no predicting how fellow parishioners in his conservative, blue-collar town of Webster would react to his presence. He needn’t have worried. The majority of congregants, said Kujawski, welcomed him. “They grabbed my arm or they patted me on the back or they hugged me,” he said. “And it was a good feeling.”

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Not everyone who changed their vote was swayed by the pro-equality juggernaut, however. In her first media interview since she surprised advocates on both sides of the issue, state Rep. Christine Canavan said she dodged early attempts by DiMasi, Murray and Patrick to discuss the marriage issue with her. Solomon also conceded that early on the Brockton Democrat was scratched from the list of targeted legislators due to her apparent unwillingness to be lobbied on the issue. Canavan said she did consult state Democratic Party Chair John Walsh, a marriage equality supporter and Canavan’s longtime friend, and pro-equality state Rep. Tom Kennedy, who also represents Brockton. Otherwise, she sought counsel from her husband Paul, her eldest son, her 84-year-old father and a local Catholic priest, who to Canavan’s surprise, told her to vote her conscience. She continued to play it close to the vest up until June 14, when she said she hinted to DiMasi that she was leaning toward voting against the amendment.

“The first person actually who knew what I was going to do was Sarah Peake,” said Canavan, referring to the openly lesbian state representative who sits beside her in the House chamber. And Peake didn’t find out until Canavan clutched her forearm during the vote and said, “Watch this,” as she pushed the red button. It was the button Canavan said she expected to push back in the 2004 ConCons, until she was barraged with phone calls from constituents demanding that they be allowed to vote on the issue. “Every time I pressed the button I wasn’t too happy about it,” said Canavan. But believing that time had mellowed opposition to marriage equality in her district and fearful of a divisive and ugly ballot campaign, Canavan took the priest’s advice and voted her conscience. And though she has visions of a well-funded opponent in next year’s election, Canavan began the interview with Bay Windows by stating, “Actually, inside my own heart and soul, it’s been very peaceful.”

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Canavan proves that even the Beacon Hill power brokers weren’t exact in their headcount. And just as Kujawski suffered nervous pangs when he walked into his church on Sunday, DiMasi confessed that he “was still a little nervous about the vote” before he walked into the chamber on June 14. There was no predicting how people would vote, he said. “In the end,” said DiMasi, “I had great faith in the ability of my members to differentiate between the right vote … and the vote of expedience.”

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