A 1913 law
preventing out-of-state gay and lesbian couples from tying
the knot in Massachusetts may be repealed next week.
The antiquated
law has its roots in racial bigotry -- it was originally
designed to prevent interracial couples from dodging the
laws in their state of origin and marrying in
Massachusetts. It was quickly forgotten once
interracial marriages were federally legalized.
Ninety-one years
later, gay rights advocates celebrated when the
Massachusetts supreme judicial court legalized same-sex
marriage in 2004.
According to Marc
Solomon, executive director of gay rights advocacy
group Mass Equality, it was at that point that the 1913 law
was "dusted off by Governor Romney in his quest
to reduce the number of same-sex marriages performed
[in Massachusetts]."
Former
Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney used the law, which had
never been repealed, to prevent out-of-state gays and
lesbians from traveling to the Bay State to wed.
May of this year
marked another marriage celebration -- this time for
California, which legalized same-sex marriage on May 15.
The
groundbreaking decision took civil rights one step further:
California had no residency requirement for the marriages.
Tourists flocked (and continue to flock) to the West
Coast to get hitched, bringing with them new wedding
revenue, with no end in sight.
For Solomon,
California's court decision was "a wake-up
call -- we have one piece of unfinished business: to
eliminate the residency requirement."
New York governor
David Paterson has instructed the state to recognize
same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, so some might wonder
why Massachusetts hasn't recognized out-of-state
marriages yet. Solomon is not worried, though.
"We have the strong support of the senate
speaker, the house speaker, and the governor [Deval
Patrick].... I think the outcome is going to be
favorable." (Hannah Clay Wareham, The
Advocate)
