Read at the vigil in support of school tolerance organized in response to a rally on the Lexington Green held by supporters of David Parker, the Lexington parent who opposed the reading of children’s books including gay and lesbian parents in Lexington Public Schools.

Today, I was part of a planning meeting of legislators to ensure that when the Massachusetts House and Senate gather in Constitutional Convention one week from tomorrow, we will reject an effort to enshrine discrimination in our Constitution.

Our Constitution is no place to compromise the civil rights of any of our neighbors, friends and relatives.

Nor is our town. Nor is the sacred Lexington Green.

I am proud to be a part of this community, which has today brought together about four times as many people in support of tolerance in our schools as those opposed to it.

While we gather here to celebrate diversity and human rights, some would have us focus on parental rights. Let’s do that, too, remembering that what matters is what we’re teaching our children at home and in our schools.

I say that teaching your children to hate is not a parental right. It’s a parental wrong.

Teaching your children that others are lesser souls or should have fewer rights is a parental wrong.

Teaching your children that it’s okay to feel morally superior or to impose your standards on others are parental wrongs.

We’re here for civil rights, human rights and the parental rights and responsibilities incumbent upon us in a democratic, pluralistic community and society.

Martin Luther King said "the arc of history is long and it bends towards justice."

He’s smiling down on us today as we celebrate justice and we celebrate each other’s commitment to the rights and responsibilities of just people.