Proposed Repeal of Law Could Lure Gay Couples to MA
Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press
The Boston Globe
Sunday, April 08, 2007
BOSTON - Gay couples from across the country could be getting the green light to marry in Massachusetts after three of the state's top political leaders said they support repealing a 94-year-old law that has blocked the practice.
While gay couples living in Massachusetts have been free to marry since 2004, following a ruling by the state Supreme Judicial Court, couples from other states have been barred from tying the knot here.
What legal weight those certificates would carry once the couples returned home is an open question. Most states prohibit gay marriage, but a Massachusetts certificate could provide couples with the foundation for legal challenges.
So far, only Rhode Island allows its gay couples to wed in Massachusetts after a Rhode Island judge ruled last September that the state's laws do not explicitly ban same-sex marriages.
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney opposed nuptials by out-of-state gay couples, citing the 1913 law that bars Massachusetts from marrying couples who would be prevented from marrying in their home states.
Romney said repealing the law would turn Massachusetts into "the Las Vegas of same-sex marriage.
"Massachusetts' new governor, Deval Patrick, a Democrat who supports gay marriage, has promised to sign a repeal."I know that the 1913 law has sort of smelly origins," Patrick said. "I think it's outdated. If it passes the Legislature and comes to my desk, I'll sign it."
Opponents of the law say it was originally approved as part of a deal with states that barred interracial marriages and didn't want couples fleeing to Massachusetts to marry.
Supporters of the law say there's little evidence to support that claim. They say with so many other states banning same-sex marriage, it makes little sense for Massachusetts to marry out-of-state gay couples.
"Massachusetts should not become the Mecca for gay marriage. We should not interfere with the sovereignty of other states," said Kris Mineau of the Massachusetts Family Institute, which is pushing a proposed constitutional amendment to overturn gay marriage in Massachusetts. "It's really a bad decision to open these floodgates."
But Mineau concedes the tide may be against him on Beacon Hill.The Massachusetts Senate recently elected a new pro-gay marriage president, Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, who says she supports ending the 1913 law.
She replaced former senate President Robert Travaglini, who voted in favor of the constitutional amendment barring gay marriage.
House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, D-Boston, also supports repealing the 1913 law.