Boston Bars Out-of-State Same-Sex Marriages

by Pam Belluck
Published May 13, 2004

BOSTON, May 12 - The City of Boston decided on Wednesday that it would not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples from other states when gay marriage becomes legal in Massachusetts next week.

But Somerville, a neighboring city, came to the opposite conclusion, saying couples who sign the license application will be issued licenses, even if they have no intention of moving to Massachusetts.

The two decisions underscore a mushrooming debate about same-sex marriage here: whether Massachusetts law allows marriages only among same-sex couples who live in the state, or intend to live here.

Gov. Mitt Romney, who opposes same-sex marriage, has said out-of-state marriages of gay couples are prevented under a 1913 law that says the state will not grant marriage licenses to out-of-state couples if their marriage would be "void" in their home state. Since no other state allows gay marriages, Governor Romney has said only couples who are or intend to be Massachusetts residents can get married here. He has threatened legal action against clerks who violate that standard.

But three communities - Provincetown, Worcester and Somerville - have rebelled against Governor Romney's directive. Officials in these communities said that they would issue a license as long as a couple signed the application form, which included an oath that the couple was telling the truth and knew of no legal impediment against their marriage in their home state.

"We basically want to treat everyone the same way when they come to City Hall," said Mark Horan, a spokesman for Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone of Somerville, a city of 80,000 just north of Boston. "It would be extraordinary to start asking what the law is in each state."

That reasoning was apparently rejected in Boston.

Merita Hopkins, Boston's corporation counsel, issued a statement Wednesday saying, "We intend to accept applications for certificates of marriage from everyone except partners who do not reside in Massachusetts, and neither one of which intends to reside in Massachusetts."

A spokesman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Seth Gitell, declined to say how the decision was reached. Cambridge, another large community next to Boston and Somerville, made a similar decision last week.

The disparate opinions on the out-of-state marriage issue were reflected Wednesday in a memorandum written by the chief justice of the state's district courts, Samuel Zoll.

In the memorandum, which advised judges how to handle same-sex couples seeking to waive the three-day waiting period between getting a license and getting married, Justice Zoll noted that "there has recently been considerable public discussion" about out-of-state applicants.

He declined to tell the judges whether to grant waivers to out-of-state couples, saying that each judge "will have to decide whether it is appropriate" to consider the 1913 law.