Backers of a proposed constitutional amendment to put a stop to gay marriage in Massachusetts said Tuesday they have gathered almost twice the number of signatures needed to put it on the ballot in 2008.
The Massachusetts Family Institute and its online counterpart, www.voteonmarriage.org, said they will submit over 120,000 signatures before Wednesday’s 5 p.m. deadline. The measure needed the support of 65,825 registered voters to make the ballot.
The proposed amendment seeks to undo a 2003 ruling by Massachusetts’ highest court that said gays are entitled to marry. In May 2004, the nation’s first state-sanctioned gay marriages began taking place, and thousands of same-sex couples have since tied the knot.
The Massachusetts Republican Party and Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican and potential 2008 presidential candidate, also supported the petition drive.