Nonresident Gays Get Right To Wed In Massachusetts
It's about time this disgusting miscegenation law was taken off the Massachusetts books. From the Boston Globe:
In a major victory for advocates of same-sex marriage rights, the House voted by a wide margin yesterday to repeal a 95-year-old law that prevents gay and lesbian couples from most other states from marrying here, setting the stage for to join just one other state, California, in allowing same-sex couples to marry regardless of residence.
The repeal passed swiftly in the Senate earlier this month on a unanimous voice vote, but some wondered if the issue would stall in the larger House, where a handful of lawmakers wanted to avoid voting on a gay marriage question just before the election season.
But Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, who joined the governor and Senate president in supporting the repeal, wanted to bring it to the floor, with the end of the session looming.
That set up a 45-minute floor debate yesterday in which supporters called the 1913 law a dusty vestige of racist opposition to interracial marriage, while opponents argued for keeping it in deference to the rights of other states to set marriage laws.
On a roll call, the House voted 118 to 35 to pass the repeal bill. The legislation will probably be sent to Governor Deval Patrick this week. The repeal will take effect 90 days after Patrick signs the measure ...
The 1913 law specifically bars out-of-state residents from marrying here if the marriage would be considered void in their home state. Its repeal opens the borders for potentially thousands of nonresident same-sex couples to marry in Massachusetts. A flood of couples is expected from New York, where Governor David Paterson has instructed state agencies to recognize and grant benefits to gay couples who marry elsewhere, even though New York does not authorize same-sex marriages.
Neither House nor Senate votes on the issue drew protesters to the State House. Advocates cited the absence of demonstrations as a sign that same-sex marriage has become an accepted fact of life in Massachusetts, after lawmakers in a joint session last year rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to limit marriage to heterosexual couples.
A curb on gay marriage will fall
Repeal of 1913 law goes next to Patrick; Nonresidents to get right to wed in Mass.
In a major victory for advocates of same-sex marriage rights, the House voted by a wide margin yesterday to repeal a 95-year-old law that prevents gay and lesbian couples from most other states from marrying here, setting the stage for Massachusetts to join just one other state, California, in allowing same-sex couples to marry regardless of residence.
The repeal passed swiftly in the Senate earlier this month on a unanimous voice vote, but some wondered if the issue would stall in the larger House, where a handful of lawmakers wanted to avoid voting on a gay marriage question just before the election season.
But Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, who joined the governor and Senate president in supporting the repeal, wanted to bring it to the floor, with the end of the session looming.
That set up a 45-minute floor debate yesterday in which supporters called the 1913 law a dusty vestige of racist opposition to interracial marriage, while opponents argued for keeping it in deference to the rights of other states to set marriage laws.
On a roll call, the House voted 118 to 35 to pass the repeal bill. The legislation will probably be sent to Governor Deval Patrick this week. The repeal will take effect 90 days after Patrick signs the measure.
"I'm glad that we finally did it," Representative Byron Rushing, a Boston Democrat and one of the bill's sponsors, said after the vote. On the floor, Rushing had urged colleagues: "Let us be fair. Let us be equitable. Let us repeal the law."
The repeal was among many measures considered yesterday by lawmakers, who must wrap up their work for 2008 by midnight tomorrow. Among the decisions, the Senate passed a bill to allow registration on Election Day, while the House budget committee rejected Patrick's request for expanded powers to cut budget line items without legislative approval.
The 1913 law specifically bars out-of-state residents from marrying here if the marriage would be considered void in their home state. Its repeal opens the borders for potentially thousands of nonresident same-sex couples to marry in Massachusetts. A flood of couples is expected from New York, where Governor David Paterson has instructed state agencies to recognize and grant benefits to gay couples who marry elsewhere, even though New York does not authorize same-sex marriages.
Neither House nor Senate votes on the issue drew protesters to the State House. Advocates cited the absence of demonstrations as a sign that same-sex marriage has become an accepted fact of life in Massachusetts, after lawmakers in a joint session last year rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to limit marriage to heterosexual couples.
Unlike what happened in the earlier debate in the Senate, several representatives called yesterday for keeping the law on the books. Representative John A. Lepper warned that repealing the 1913 law would create chaos outside Massachusetts. He said other states will be forced to consider same-sex marriage or resolve disputes among couples who marry in Massachusetts but want benefits, or to divorce, back home ...
"It's fantastic," said Marc Solomon, executive director of MassEquality, an advocacy and lobbying organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights. "We've really rid our state of the last vestige of legal discrimination against same-sex couples, and once again we lead the way in equality."
In New York, the repeal could prompt many of the state's roughly 49,000 same-sex couples, as estimated by the US Census Bureau, to visit Massachusetts.
"We're thrilled that Massachusetts has lifted its residency requirements," said Joe Tarver, spokesman for the Empire State Pride Agenda, an advocacy organization. "Now New Yorkers can drive across the border to a neighboring state and get a marriage license that will be recognized as legal and valid here at home." ...
Patrick has said he is eager to sign the bill. "The 1913 law is outdated and discriminatory; repealing it is the right thing to do," he said in a statement yesterday.
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