Massachusetts
court validates marriages of New York same-sex couples

The Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders announced Tuesday that same-sex couples from New York who were married in Masschusetts between May 17, 2004, and July 6, 2006, now have legally valid marriages. The Massachusetts court judgment reverses a challenge by former governor Mitt Romney, who held that out-of-state same-sex couples could be married in Massachusetts only if same-sex marriage is legal in the couple's home state.

GLAD represented eight couples from outside states who either married or attempted to marry before Romney banned nonresident marriages in Massachusetts. New York State had no "express prohibition" against same-sex marriage prior to July 6, 2006, when New York's court of appeals ruled that state law did not grant same-sex couples the right to marry.

"This decision will mean the world to many families here in New York who sought the protections of marriage in Massachusetts and then were left out in the cold by Mitt Romney's callous action," said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda. (The Advocate)