By Bobby Hankinson and Sarah Metcalf

As the sun shined over the Boston Common early Monday morning, demonstrators on both sides of the gay marriage debate rallied in front of the Massachusetts Statehouse. However, by the time the sun set, there was silence.

The Massachusetts State Legislature decided after a 105-92 vote on Monday to pass an amendment banning same sex marriage in Massachusetts. The Travag-lini-Lees compromise amendment would define marriage as between a man and a woman, but provide for civil unions that would include all of the state, but not federal benefits.

State Senator Jarrett T. Barrios, a Cambridge Dem-ocrat, expressed his disappointment to the remaining crowd waiting outside the Statehouse after the decision was released.

“Many of us today are sad,” Barrios said. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sad too.”

Earlier in the day, both parties remained optimistic that they would be victorious. Matt Borus, a 27-year-old demonstration organizer, believed there was hope for a brighter tomorrow for those seeking equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians.

“Tomorrow, people will get up, go to work, say ‘hi’ to loved ones, come home and, for some people, reaffirm their identity,” Borus said. “For some, the sun is going to shine like it is today.”

However, many others in attendance did not see the passage of same sex marriage as being so bright. Nelya Mayevski, a resident of Manchester, N.H., worried about the effects of Monday’s decision on the rest of the country as she marched carrying a sign which read “Straight and narrow is the way to heaven.”

“If you let it happen here, it will spread,” Mayevski said.

Some would argue that the spreading of gay marriage would be a positive thing, as families with same-sex couples raising children are becoming more common across the nation, including in the Northeastern community.

“My partner and I have a son … we’re both very disappointed at the outcome,” said Linda Kaczor, director of training at the Center for Counseling and Student Development, and advisor for the Northeastern University Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Straight Alliance (NUBiLAGA). “My experience on campus was that particularly employees were disappointed and saddened. A lot of students aren’t thinking about marriage at this age, but I think the cumulative effect of having constitutional amendments that are in opposition to who you are as an individual is a strain on one’s self-esteem and self-worth.”

Though some opponents and supporters of same sex marriage were dissatisfied with the decision to create civil unions, others in attendance at the Statehouse expected the decision that came down.

“I would like to see civil unions with the rights of marriage,” said Rebecca Swanger, a resident of Sudbury. “Realistic-ally, gay marriage is not going to happen today.”

Tim Echols, the vice chair for the Bush-Cheney campaign in Georgia, also predicted civil unions would prevail.

“I believe civil unions will give homosexuals what they are looking for,” Echols said. “They will make everyone slightly happy.”

As he completed his statement, a woman walking by interjected, “Civil unions will not make anyone happy.”

The decision only revives the fear in some people that by banning gay marriage, legislators on Beacon Hill are deeming gays second-class citizens.

“I feel like it’s discrimination with a minority group being denied rights a majority group has,” said Jaxon White, co-president of NUBiLAGA. “People like [President George W.] Bush sicken me, that they want to put discrimination into the Constitution that’s supposed to protect people.”

Despite the disappointing decision, White remained optimistic about the future of equal marriage as a younger generation more accustomed to change begins to fill the seats of the Massachusetts Legislature.

“I think society always has to move forward,” White said. “They say it’s not traditional, but at one time it was illegal for interracial couples to marry.”

Kaczor also confirmed that age and traditional verse non-traditional upbringings were issues in the vote.

“If you even just look at the way the legislators voted … generally, younger legislators had fewer problems on the issue,” Kaczor said. “Most students I interact or talk with are like ‘what’s the big deal?’ They grew up with kids who have two moms or two dads or kids who are gay.”

However, there were many other disagreements that arose throughout the masses of protest signs ranging from “Grandmothers for Same Sex Marriage” to “Jesus Sets Men Free from the Demons of Sodomy.”

One altercation warranted police attention as a family of same sex marriage opponents urged their small children to huddle closer together while they protected them from the equal marriage demonstrators, all the while encouraging them to chant “A-I-D-S.”

As the equal marriage demonstrators began to respond to the chants, a woman paused her chanting of “Remember Sodom and Gomorrah,” to instruct the gay marriage supporters to “take care of your little boyfriend there.”

Despite tension between the groups, Ron Cruise, an opponent of gay marriage, and Arline Isaacson, from the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, made a joint announcement to “keep calm and make sure things run smoothly,” said Dory Clark, a representative of MassEquality.org.

After the decision was announced to the thinning crowds standing on the steps of the Statehouse, both sides vowed to keep fighting.

Brookline High School Stud-ent Zoe Hyde, 16, stood on the top of the stairs and yelled down to the crowd: “I’m not beat. I’m going to keep coming back and I will get my rights.”

Hyde will not be the only one continuing the fight.

“My partner and I take slightly different approaches — she tends to be optimistic and I tend to be a little more guarded” Kaczor said with a laugh. “However we will still be out on May 17 at the town hall getting married, and we’re very excited.”

In contrast, opponent to same sex marriage Shannon Sayer of Arlington called upon a strengthening of the traditional family.

“I’m for traditional marriage. Children need a father and a mother,” Sayer said.

As a few people from either side remained, they began to break off into smaller groups and engage in rigorous debates over the Bible, civil rights and the American family. While many of these disputes went unresolved, one thing was left for certain: this was not over.

Barrios brought the evening to a close as he stood on top of the stairs, in front of the Statehouse and before all the demonstrators that had waited all day.

“Every time you sang ‘America the Beautiful,’ or ‘My Country Tis Of Thee’ or ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’ you reminded us who was right,” said Barrios to crowd.

“You’re a liar,” a pastor in the crowd yelled as he attempted to shout over the senator’s words, wearing a banner that read “Homosexuals are possessed by demons. God hates it; it’s an abomination.”

“In my Bible it says love thy neighbor,” continued Barrios.

The pastor interjected once more, “Repent!”

“I will pray for you this Sunday,” Barrios said, pointing at the pastor before turning back to the crowd. “We’ve got a long fight ahead of us.”