The scene from the state house.

As already posted, Matt and I were down at the State House covering the gay marriage vote. As we were making our way up Park Street you could already hear the crowds cheering. The scene as we made it up to Beacon Street was not what I expected.

Both sides of the argument were divided by the street. Each had a line of supporters, carrying signs and chanting, that stretched down as far as I could see. Each sidewalk was almost impassible.

Matt instantly took out his camera and ran down the street to get coverage of the crowd. I had my notebook out before and I started taking in the scene. As soon as I started writing people came past shouting things for me to write down, but none would stick around long enough for me to get any questions in.

What awaited us inside was nothing compared to the scene outside.  Matt and I made are way up stairs to jack into the live feed from inside the senate chambers. As we crossed the velvet rope that held the media members, it was obvious that every news outlet in the state had someone there covering the event.

I soon came to realize that most people in the working press have no sense of personal space. They all jostled over each other for position. Fox 25’s own political editor, Joe Battenfeld, blindsided me as I stood at the ropes scribbling on my note pad, nearly knocking me off my feet.

The hustle and bustle of everything was a bit overwhelming. The vote itself was over before I think most people in the hallways even realized it began. After that it was a mass exodus from the press area into the main steps leading from the senate chambers.

-SPH3