If the first

time is tragedy, and the second farce, does that make the third time an absolute joke? Once more Massachusetts lawmakers attempted to mangle our State constitution in order to protect themselves from the "Gay Menace" yesterday during a special Constitutional Convention (to use these words in connection with a movement seeking to deny a group of citizens their fundamental rights and not ensure them just feels wrong); and once more they failed, making it three swings and three misses for those whacky "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" folks who feel so uncomfortable about the issue of gay marriage that they feel the need to rain on everyone's parade.

I think the conservatives have miscalculated horribly on this issue. From the record of the past three votes at the Constitutional Convention, it would appear that the substantial middle ground that the anti-gay marriage wing just assumed would swing their way when push came to shove are showing a remarkable amount of conscience. The GOP thought they were passing a poison pill to the Dems, but I think a lot of Mass lawmakers - especially the younger ones - realize that if there's any poison in this issue, it's going to hit anyone who goes on the record looking like a bigot in a time-release fashion a few years down the road.

For all of their initial bluster, it appears as if the "family values" crowd may have already shot their bolt. They couldn't even muster enough protestors for the full three days this hooplah has been going on for down around the State House (they had a strong showing on Day One, but by Day Three it was almost all pro-gay marriage activists), let alone get a proposed amendment passed. Time is on the side of gay marriage. The more reasonable people think about this issue, the more they eventually come to the conclusion that even if they're uncomfortable with homosexuality, it's none of their damned business. Quite frankly I was surprised at how many of the local morning radio DJ's were ridiculing the anti-gay protestors, rather than the other way around.

Maybe it's the fact that Boston has gotten black eye after black eye for fighting on the wrong side of these issues historically, but something is keeping the yahoos in check out here in New England on this one, and so far I'm proud of the Legislature for keeping the long view in mind here.