Massachusetts Senate Votes To End Gay Marriage Restriction
Los Angeles Times
By Stephen Braun
July 16, 2008
The Massachusetts Senate on Tuesday voted to repeal an obscure 1913 law that
has been used to keep out-of-state same-sex couples from marrying there.
Legislators in the state House of Representatives in Boston are expected to
take similar action today, and Gov. Deval Patrick has promised to sign the
repeal. The move could allow gays and lesbians from other states to marry in
Massachusetts within weeks.
"The governor has said several times he intends to support the repeal if it
passes," spokeswoman Becky Deusser said. Patrick's daughter, Katherine, 18,
announced last month that she is a lesbian.
In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage.
However, then-Gov. Mitt Romney invoked the 1913 law, which opponents said
originally had been used to block interracial unions. The 95-year-old statute
prevented out-of-state couples from obtaining licenses if their marriages would
not be legally recognized in their home states.
In May, California became the second state to legalize gay marriage,
following a state Supreme Court ruling.
The political climate in Massachusetts for solidifying gay marriage rights
has brightened since 2004. Surveys show that more than half of the state's
voters now accept some form of gay unions. "In poll after poll, the issue has
gained mainstream support," said David Paleologos, director of Suffolk
University's Political Research Center.
Those who fought to repeal the 1913 statute said Tuesday that the move --
together with the California court decision -- could amplify political momentum
nationwide. Hundreds of same-sex couples have taken their vows in California
since June 16, when local jurisdictions began accepting civil marriage
applications.
"The California ruling was a wake-up call for Massachusetts," said Marc
Solomon, campaign director of MassEquality, a coalition backing same-sex unions.
"We had to remove the last vestige of marriage discrimination on the books
here."
The repeal was opposed by the Massachusetts Family Institute, a group that
said the 1913 law legitimately upheld the authority of states to define
marriage. "This law was deemed to be credible by our state courts just two years
ago," said Kris Mineau, the institute's president. "There's no credible evidence
that this law had any racist motivation."
In California, a group called Protect Marriage has gathered more than 1
million signatures in an effort to get a constitutional amendment banning gay
marriage onto the November ballot. Similar ballot drives are underway in Florida
and Arizona; Massachusetts ballot efforts can be approved only by the
Legislature.
Nationally, the issue of gay marriage is being raised by Republican
candidates in swing states such as Ohio, where social conservatives are a potent
political force. GOP presidential candidate John McCain has come out in favor of
the effort to overturn gay marriage laws, while his Democratic foe, Barack
Obama, opposes the California initiative to outlaw such unions.
"We think this issue has lost some of its edge," Solomon said. "It's just not
a big deal. Americans look at this and they wonder why these groups are
constantly talking about gay marriage when gas prices and the war in Iraq are so
much more critical."
A study commissioned by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and
Economic Development predicted that marriages of gay couples from New York and
other Northeastern states could mean as much as $37 million in revenue for the
state each year for the next three years -- and nearly $2 million a year in
taxes.
