Legislature to take up repeal of 1913 law shortly
Wilkerson predicts Senate vote on Tuesday
by Ethan Jacobs
associate editor
Wednesday Jul 9, 2008
The state legislature will likely take up a bill to repeal the 1913 law that prevents non-resident same-sex couples from marrying before the close of the legislative session at the end of this month.
Sen. Dianne Wilkerson (D-Boston), the champion of the legislation in the Senate, said she expects the repeal bill to come up for a vote in the Senate on Tuesday. She declined to say what she expected the vote count to be, but said she was optimistic the repeal bill would pass.
"I think that the biggest hurdle and the courageous vote that needed to be taken was on the constitutional convention {in which lawmakers defeated a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage}, and I see this as more cleaning up loose ends," said Wilkerson.
<snip>
The 1913 law prevents out-of-state couples from marrying in the Bay State if their marriage would be considered void in their state of residence. Legal experts differ on the original intent of the law, but many have argued that
it was designed at least in part as a way to prevent interracial couples from coming to Massachusetts to evade anti-miscegenation laws in their home state. The state had not enforced the law in decades until shortly before same-sex couples began marrying in Massachusetts in 2004.Then-Gov. Mitt Romney resurrected the law, using it to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples from out of state to prevent Massachusetts from becoming "the Las Vegas of same-sex marriage." In response Spellane filed his repeal bill, and Barrios filed an amendment to the Senate budget bill calling for repeal. The Senate amendment passed on a standing vote, but it did not survive budget negotiations with the House. In response to GLAD’s suit challenging the law, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the 1913 law was constitutional, but said that states must expressly ban same-sex marriage in order for Massachusetts to deny residents of those states the right to marry.
Currently couples from California, Rhode Island, and New Mexico may marry in Massachusetts.More:
http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc3=&id=77194See also:
Massachusetts May Open Up Gay Marriage To Out-Of-Staters
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: July 10, 2008 - 5:00 pm ET
(Boston, Massachusetts) A 1913 law used to bar same-sex couples from states which would not recognize their marriages from marrying in Massachusetts could soon be history.
Legislation to repeal the law will be taken up at the State House next week. House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi (D) and Senate President Therese Murray (D) both support the repeal effort. If the bill passes Gov. Deval Patrick (D) has said he will sign it.
Republicans are expected to oppose the bill, along with a number of Democrats. Opposition to repealing the old law is strong and the vote is expected to be close.
<snip>
California, the only other state to allow same-sex marriage has no out-of-state limitation.
The Massachusetts Family Institute which fought to block same-sex marriage in the state said it would fight to retain the old law. The institute and other socially conservative groups, including the Catholic church, say they intend to use the issue to defeat Democrats in November.
More:
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/07/071008mas.htmGay-marriage advocates hope to repeal old law
Nonresidents now barred
By Matt Viser
Globe Staff / July 10, 2008
State lawmakers are expected to vote next week on repealing a 1913 law that prevents out-of-state gay and lesbian couples from getting married in Massachusetts, reigniting a divisive debate on an issue that has stirred passions and put the state in the national spotlight.
<snip>
"This is extraordinarily significant," said Arline Isaacson, cochairwoman of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus. "If we get the 1913 law repealed, it brings us one very important step closer to full equality."
Several lawmakers, though, have long opposed same-sex marriage and plan to fight the repeal.
"I have a problem with it; I've always had a problem with it," said Representative James R. Miceli, a Democrat from Wilmington who has consistently voted against gay marriage. "I just feel that it would be hypocritical if I turned around and said, 'Fine, you can come here and get married, and we'll recognize it.' "
More:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/07/10/gay_marriage_advocates_hope_to_repeal_old_law/Equality In The News
Jul 10, 2008
Help us Repeal the 1913 Law
MassEquality Staff
It's time to put an end to a final strand of marriage discrimination in our Commonwealth: the discriminatory 1913 law that bars out-of-state same-sex couples from marrying here.
The Massachusetts Legislature is planning to take up legislation repealing this outdated law as early as next week.This is the result of intensive lobbying work we've done -- in partnership with the lead Senate champion of the bill, Dianne Wilkerson -- as well as the recent events in California.
Please take action to make sure this bill passes by contacting your legislators today to ask them to repeal the 1913 law.
http://www.massequality.org/action/contactleg In 2004, Gov. Mitt Romney applied this arcane law, the so-called "1913 Law," to keep out-of-state same-sex couples from marrying in Massachusetts. The law, in fact, was rooted in discrimination: it was enacted to limit the number of interracial marriages that could be performed here by stating that if it were disallowed by the home state, a couple could not be married in the Commonwealth. Romney, a staunch and vocal opponent of marriage equality, turned to that statute, which had not been used for decades, to reject out-of-state gay and lesbian couples.
The recent decision in favor of marriage equality in California, which has no similar law barring out-of-state couples, makes this all the more urgent. We should be encouraging committed couples to come to our state -- the first in the nation to have marriage equality -- to marry, not turning them away at the border.
More:
http://www.massequality.org/news/
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