The Massachusetts
legislature's decision in June to lift the ban on
marriages performed for out-of-state same-sex couples may be
contested in 2010. Massachusetts attorney general
Martha Coakley has given the go-ahead to a ballot
measure that will ask voters if the law should be
reinstated, according to the Boston Herald.
Coakley
authorized the proposal with hesitation, saying the
"decision that this referendum meets the
constitutional requirements as to subject matter does
not mean that it has our support, but simply that the
constitutional requirements are met for the proponents of
the referendum to obtain further signatures."
MassResistance,
the organization committed to reinstating the 1913 law,
has met nearly all requirements in order to form a ballot
question. Its next step is to gather 33,000 signatures
by October 31. If it can achieve that goal, the
question will appear on the 2010 ballot.
"I
don't think we're going to have much trouble
getting the signatures," MassResistance
president Brian Camenker told Metro
International.
Gov. Deval
Patrick told the Herald Monday that this same
law, which former governor Mitt Romney invoked to prevent
nonresident gay and lesbian couples from marrying in the
state, was originally instituted to
impede interracial marriage. (The Advocate)
