US: Opponents of same-sex marriages face near-certain defeat in their bid to overturn a ruling in Massachusetts allowing gays and lesbians to wed, a result that could influence debate on the hotly contested issue across the country.
Just over a year after Massachusetts became the first US state to allow gay couples to marry, political support is fading for a state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage and allow only same-sex civil unions.
Massachusetts lawmakers vote on the proposal on September 14th in a constitutional convention. Approval would pave the way for a final hurdle - a state referendum on the amendment in 2006.
But House Speaker Salvatore F DiMasi said rejection was likely. "At this point, he thinks . . .the amendment will not proceed any further," said Mr DiMasi's spokeswoman Kim Haberlin.
Mr DiMasi is the latest Massachusetts politician to signal dying political and public support for overturning the ground-breaking ruling by the state's highest court that struck down a ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional.
Advocates say more than 6,000 same-sex couples have been issued marriage licences in Massachusetts. But they see more fights ahead that could determine whether other states follow Massachusetts's lead, as conservatives and Christian groups push for an outright ban on both same-sex marriages and civil unions in the state. Many gay rights activists oppose civil unions, which lack some of the federal benefits of a legal marriage.