BY SOME odd twist of events, the best-known act of the
Massachusetts Legislature of 1913 is a law denying marriage licenses to
nonresident couples if their union would be illegal in their home states.
The measure has a miserable history. Though it resurfaced as part of the
same-sex marriage debate in 2004, its origins lie in racial discrimination. And
it's a legal anomaly; it asks public officials in Massachusetts to interpret the
marriage statutes of other states.
This measure doesn't belong on the books at all. The state Senate is expected
to revisit it today. Senators should repeal the 1913 law, and the House should
follow suit.
Back in 1913, interracial marriages were legal in Massachusetts, but not in
most states. Yet it's not at all clear that any interracial couples were ever
turned away under the law. Instead, it fell into obscurity and only resurfaced
four years ago, when Governor Mitt Romney cited it in telling towns to refuse
marriage licenses to same-sex couples from out of state.
Other states can enforce their own laws. And if most states refuse to
recognize some marriages that are legal in Massachusetts, that's their loss.
While Romney sniffed at this state becoming the "Las Vegas of gay marriage," one
recent study suggests that letting same-sex couples from other states marry in
Massachusetts would bring economic benefits of $37 million a year.
But repealing the misbegotten 1913 law is the right move, even if it doesn't
yield a dime. For the measure only underscores the parallel between interracial
marriage and same-sex marriage. By repealing it, the Legislature will send a
powerful message: Marriages that once seemed so threatening to so many people
can become part of the social fabric over time.
