November 17, 2008 Opponents of gay marriage hold forum in Boston Play video

(Scot Yount, NECN: Boston, MA) - Tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary of same sex marriage in Massachusetts. Today the Family Life Institute, a group opposed to gay marriage, is held a forum to discuss the affect of that decision.

5 years after a state Supreme Court decision legalized same sex marriage in the Bay State…the fight is still on. At a rally on City Hall plaza over the weekend, demonstrators reacted to the proposition 8 defeat in California and ballot initiatives in Florida and Arizona that banned same sex marriage.

Despite that, one day before the anniversary in Boston, the lobbying group that spearheaded the lawsuit that sparked the court decision that has meant more than 11,000 same sex marriages is still celebrating.

Lee Swislow-GLAD-"We are really happy that Massachusetts is no longer the only state that Connecticut has embraced marriage equality and we look forward to other states joining in what is good for everyone."

Just three blocks away at Suffolk University Law School…the Massachusetts family institute holds a forum. Community activists, educators and lobbyists discuss the issue and hope the message of California, Florida, and Arizona will strengthen the case to allow the Bay State citizens to vote.

Kris Mineau "Our position is to let the people vote….let the people vote on it.

Same sex marriage advocates have said that in the ensuing five years... that feeling has softened-and that the sky didn't fall,

Massachusetts did not become a Las Vegas of homosexual marriage…and that the values of heterosexual couples have not changed.

Sot Lee Swislow-GLAD "in some ways the world did change…5 years later… so normal…we think it has been good for families

Maggie Gallagher "it is the difference between public schools teaching gay marriage and not…having teachers educate your children about a view you don't hold..you are seeing some real consequences.”