News
2006-02-16
Massachusetts
court delays ruling on out-of-state same-sex marriages
The state's
highest court has waived a self-imposed deadline for ruling
on whether same-sex couples from other state
The state's
highest court has waived a self-imposed deadline for ruling
on whether same-sex couples from other states can marry in Massachusetts.
The supreme judicial court in Boston heard
arguments on October 6, 2004, about a 1913 state
law that says out-of-state couples cannot get
married in Massachusetts if their home states do not
recognize such unions. Last Thursday the court
notified lawyers that it would not issue a decision
within the 130-day window, according to the court's Web site.
Lawyers noted that the court also went past its
deadline in its historic 4–3 ruling that
legalized same-sex marriage in 2003. "It could be due
to a multiplicity of issues, including the court's own
backlog," Mark D. Mason, president-elect of the
Massachusetts Bar Association, told The Republican of Springfield.
Eight gay couples from surrounding states, all
of whom were denied marriage licenses in
Massachusetts, are challenging the 1913 law. If the
court strikes it down, same-sex couples from across the
country could wed in Massachusetts and potentially
demand marriage rights at home. (AP)
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