Last modified: Friday, June 15, 2007 1:00 AM EDT Both sides see vote as turning point BY JIM HAND SUN CHRONICLE STAFF Advocates of putting a gay marriage ban on the ballot call it a violation of the public trust. Opponents of the ban called it a vindication of civil rights. But both sides of the debate agreed that Thursday's vote by the Legislature not to put the issue on the 2008 ballot was history in the making. Putting the measure on the ballot in the form of a constitutional amendment would have required 50 of 200 votes in the Legislature, but it garnered only 45 votes. That means Massachusetts will remain the only state where gay marriage is legal. State Rep. Betty Poirier, R-North Attleboro, said Massachusetts always seems to be at the forefront of American history, and it is again with the vote against the ban. "I truly believe this is a historic turning point for our state and our country. The future will decide if that is good or bad," she said. Poirier obviously believes it is a turning point for the worst. She said the Legislature ignored the will of hundreds of thousands of voters by voting against putting the proposed ban on gay marriage on the ballot so the people could decide the matter. "The Legislature has said 'we know better.' This is a violation of the public trust. We are supposed to be a government of the people, and the people's will has been thrown in the trash," she said. Opponents of the ban, such as Gov. Deval Patrick, however, said gay marriage is a civil right that should not be taken away - even by a vote of the people. They said Massachusetts is an example to the rest of the country in protecting civil rights. Both sides of the issue also said they suspect the 45-151 vote spells the end to the movement to impose a ban and overturn a state Supreme Judicial Court ruling that effectively made gay marriage legal. Fifty votes were need to advance the ban. Lawmakers said they suspect the ban will not be revived and that the Legislature will move on to other issues. Poirier said the vote sent a message to the people who worked to gather signatures to put the ban on the ballot that the Legislature does not care about the democratic process and will not listen to the people. "Why would they do it again?" she said. State Rep. John Lepper, R-Attleboro, said he has no idea what organizers of the movement to ban gay marriage will do, but time is working against them. He said a few years ago there were more than 90 votes in the Legislature against gay marriage. That number has continued to dwindle with each vote, so it is now down to 45. One related issue that could come before the Legislature soon is a proposal to allow out-of-state gay couples to get married in Massachusetts, he said. State Rep. Steve D'Amico, D-Seekonk, also said he believes this might be the end of the issue. "I'm just glad we can now get on with other things," he said, noting major fiscal issues are facing the state. "People are concerned about other things." He said putting the ban on the ballot would not only put civil rights at risk, but would result in more than a year of fighting over the issue leading up to the 2008 vote. "It would have been a very divisive issue," he said. The lawmakers said they had no idea what was going to happen in the days leading up to the vote. Originally it was thought that supporters of the ban had the 50 votes they needed to put the measure on the ballot, although some lawmakers were wavering. In the past couple of days, Patrick and Democratic leaders put on a final push to change some votes, and they succeeded. "It's nice to see we have a governor who is trying to bring people together instead of dividing them," D'Amico said. But, Lepper said it was an "appalling" use of raw power that changed the votes. "The Democratic leaders worked overtime to assure the people did not have the opportunity to vote," he said.