Dear Mr. Brown,

The information on which you based your statement that I said that the Massachusetts same-sex marriage decision came "at the wrong time" is incorrect.  In fact, I was pleased by that decision and have been working ever since it came down to prevent its being overturned.  My criticism was not of the marriage decision in Massachusetts, but the decision by the Mayor of San Francisco and several other local officials to perform same-sex marriages even though the laws of their jurisdictions were to the contrary.  I thought that these efforts caused a great deal of political trouble without producing any gain - since none of the people involved were in fact legally married.  In Massachusetts, in direct opposition to this, people were legally married which was not only a benefit for those who were able to get married, but gave us a chance to show the people of Massachusetts that there was nothing to fear in same-sex marriage. ! ; In fact, on Election Day, the results of the various legislative races have been correctly interpreted as a willingness on the part of Massachusetts voters to let that decision stand.

So it is inaccurate to say that I was critical of the timing of the Massachusetts decision.  I supported it.  What I criticized was the action of Mayor Newsom and of those people who followed him, and my criticism there was not simply of their timing, but of the whole operation.

Barney Frank

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