But the Cambridge senator repeats that backers'optimism must be tempered, and that the fight ishardly over.

Although the bill as it stands has majoritySenate support, in the past a few powerfulsenators have used legislative maneuvering andcommittees to slow its passage.

Many supporters had feared that Sen. William"Biff" MacLean (D-Fairhaven), chair of theCommittee on Bills, would block the committee'spassage of the bill to the Senate floor until thelegislative session ended. MacLean's predecessor,Sen. Arthur J. Lewis (D-Jamaica Plains), was astaunch opponent of gay rights legislation andsuccessfully killed a similar bill with suchmethods two years ago.

The bill now still faces formidable oppositionfrom Senate President William M. Bulger(D-Boston), who wields considerable power in theSenate.

Opponents might also attempt to weigh down thelegislation with amendments to slow its passageor, in the event of considerable change, force thebill into a conference committee between House andSenate. Any resulting compromise would stillrequire passage by both houses in a finalenactment vote.

"The bill exposed a lot of real distortions ofthe basic democratic process," says DavidLaFontaine, lobbying director for the Coalitionfor Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights.

"What's going to bring it to victory is ourgrassroots pressure, especially in Cambridge," hesays.

According to LaFontaine, legislators likeBarrett, House Majority Leader Rep. Charles F.Flaherty (D-Cambridge) and Sen. Michael LoPresti(D-Boston) helped bring about last week's releaseof the bill from MacLean's committee, a majorlandmark in the fight to get H.5427 on the books.

"It's really a tremendous step forward. We'rereal confident that it will pass this session,"said Brian P. Murphy '86-'87, an aide to Sen. LoisG. Pines (D-Newton), a co-sponsor of the bill.

But opposition lies in other quarters as well.

Sen. Edward P. Kirby (R-Whitman) has pledged todo everything in his power to stop the bill. Theconservative senator has argued that a gay rightsbill would inappropriately duplicate the effectsof affirmative action.

"It's a harmful bill that will, in effect,promote affirmative action for practioners of acertain lifestyle," Kirby says.

"If homosexuals telegraph their sexualorientation to the person they are dealing with,that person has to be very careful with peoplethey are turning down," Kirby says. "It's going tobe a conscious decision to say, 'Okay, I'll rent,I'll hire, I'll lend' to avoid being broughtbefore the Commission Against Discrimination."

The question of enforcement itself--by theMassachusetts Commission Against Discrimination(MCAD), the state agency responsible forinvestigating reported cases ofdiscrimination--raises other problems.

The commission suffered from the $491 millionin budget cuts ordered by Dukakis for fiscal year1990. Eight of its employees have been laid off,says Judith K. Wright, press liaison for MCAD.