As of today, gay couples have been marrying in Massachusetts for three years. In each state legislative session since then, there’s been an effort to ban gay marriage by constitutional amendment. Initially there was strong legislative opposition to gay marriages, with perhaps 3/5 of the state’s 200 house and senate members supporting some form of ban (some wanted to ban gay marriage and civil unions, others just gay marriage).
But opposition to gay marriage has dwindled every year as anti-gay marriage legislators have been defeated in elections and as others have become convinced that recognizing gay unions hasn’t hurt anyone. For example, the Republican senate minority leader and co-sponsor of a state constitutional ban changed his mind and opposed the amendment he had previously sponsored.