Gay Marriage a Big Draw
The Republican
By Fred Contrada
August 02, 2008

NORTHAMPTON - They surely will be throwing more rice in Massachusetts, but no one knows for sure if lifting the marriage ban for out-of-state gay couples will sow the seeds of an economic boom.

Some researchers have estimated that the state will reap as much as $111 million over the next three years as same-sex couples from other states travel to Massachusetts to wed.

That scenario was made possible on Thursday when Gov. Deval L. Patrick signed a bill repealing a 1913 law that barred such unions.

The law, which was originally aimed at preventing interracial couples from marrying in Massachusetts, prohibited the issuing of a marriage license to someone from a state that doesn't recognize that marriage. It was invoked by then-Gov. W. Mitt Romney soon after a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling paved the way for resident gay couples to marry in 2004.

Until Thursday, clerks in city and town halls throughout the state were required by law to ascertain whether same-sex couples applying for marriage licenses were residents of Massachusetts. If not, the couples were required to take a pledge stating that they intended to live here. Northampton City Clerk Wendy A. Mazza said Friday that she is glad to be relieved of that duty.

"It eases it up for us because we can now treat everyone equally," she said. "(The 1913 law) made it very uncomfortable for me at the counter."

California is the only other state in which same-sex couples can legally marry, although there is a movement there to enact a constitutional amendment that would ban them once again. Now that non-resident couples can marry in Massachusetts, some are expecting a stampede for the Bay State.

University of Massachusetts economics professor M.V. Lee Badgett estimates that the Massachusetts economy will get a $111 million boost over the next three years as more than 32,000 same-sex couples travel here for their weddings. License fees alone will accounts for $1.1 million, Badgett said, and the resulting business will create 330 new jobs.

Badgett, who directs the Center for Public Policy and Administration, calls her calculations a conservative estimate that does not take into account local spending by wedding guests. The biggest source of revenue, she said, will be New York, which recently moved to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

Exactly how any economic benefits will be distributed in Massachusetts remain to be seen, however. Springfield City Clerk Wayman Lee said he has only received one out-of-state inquiry since Patrick signed the new bill. He estimates that Springfield has issued only 10-15 licenses to same-sex couples over the past two years.

"We might get a few people from New York, but they'll probably go someplace like Pittsfield," he said.

Heidi C. Kuhl and Christine M. Thompson of Syracuse, N.Y., were heading to Canada for their nuptials but changed their plans when they heard that Massachusetts will accommodate them. Now they are aiming for a Northampton wedding.

"We'd much rather get married in our own country," said Kuhl.

Kuhl said her wedding will be small, with just the couple and three witnesses, although they will probably stay in Northampton for a few days.

"We're just glad to have a place to go," she said.

New Hampshire innkeepers Edward A. Butler and Les E. Schoof will seek their wedding license in Somerville, where they were denied one four years ago. The couple, who have been together 30 years, raced to Massachusetts after the 2004 court ruling but failed to get their license before Romney invoked the 1913 law. They were plaintiffs in a resulting lawsuit against the state.

Although same-sex couples are allowed to have civil unions in New Hampshire, Butler said it is no substitute for marriage.

"More than that, this is really a symbolic gesture for us to acknowledge that civil unions are really not equality," he said.

What benefit, if any, a Massachusetts marriage will have for a couple from a state that does not recognize same-sex unions is an open question. Michele E. Granda, a staff lawyer for Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, said private companies are often ahead of the curve in recognizing such unions. Marriage also has its own cachet in society, she said.

"Only marriage provides the dignity and respect and allows a couple to participate in an institution that most people understand," she said. "I think people in the U.S. are going to see what Massachusetts is seeing: that marriage helps these couples and helps society and hurts no one."