A new wedding boom awaits

WHILE MUCH of the country remains to be sold on the concept of same-sex marriage, the atmosphere in Provincetown is positively giddy as it braces for what is expected to be another wave of nouveau nuptials.

Former governor Mitt Romney warned against letting Massachusetts become the "Las Vegas of same-sex marriage," and even Provincetown has shown some ambivalence on the marriage issue in the past. Yet civic and business leaders in Provincetown have wisely concluded that the state's latest step into this unfolding realm is a boon for the town.

Local tourism officials, as the Globe reported last week, may well be trying to increase the already substantial number of straight visitors. But right now, economic hopes are riding high on the repeal of a 1913 law that Romney used to block same-sex marriages for out-of-staters.

Now that the 1913 law has been repealed, many Provincetown residents expect an influx of couples eager to share the rights already enjoyed by Bay Staters. The town clerk reported that 20 marriage applications were filled out Aug. 1 - the day after Governor Deval Patrick signed the repeal legislation. Many more are now expected.

The first wave of same-sex marriages left Provincetown flush with many rewards - not only monetary benefits to lodging, catering, and flower businesses, but also pride in witnessing so many couples taking a big step many had thought impossible up until then. It was history unfolding before everybody's eyes, and it was thrilling.

Less well remembered, perhaps, is the fact that Provincetown, as a municipality, did not do much to make gay marriage possible.

While advocacy groups were battling their way toward the state Supreme Judicial Court's historic Goodridge decision, Provincetown stayed on the sidelines. You heard very little talk about gay marriage back then; as a political issue, many locals thought it was more likely to cause backlash than help their interests.

And even though gay tourism has been the backbone of the town's economy for many years, few saw gay civil rights activism as a source of new business. The town had lived through the dark early years of AIDS, then brush-ups with ACT UP agitators and gay-bashers in the 1990s. With tourism as its sole means of support, negative press was to be avoided. Keeping the peace was more important than pushing any political agenda.

All that changed when gay marriage became legal in May 2004.

No vote was taken, but by the time the big day came about, gay marriage had become, by all appearances, a townwide celebration. And the Provincetown Board of Selectmen - two of whom married their partners that day - moved to the front of the bandwagon they had just jumped on.

After first defying Romney's statewide order against marrying nonresidents, the selectmen reluctantly complied, then signed on to a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the 1913 law. In their newfound enthusiasm the selectmen decided to fight - for the rights of others, and for the money they might spend. When that case found its way to the state's highest court, the justices, perhaps stung by criticism of their first decision, left the old law in place. The Provincetown selectmen had nothing to show other than a big legal bill, and pride in fighting the good fight.

Since then, gay marriage has become a part of everyday life in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, Provincetown continues to wrestle with its self-image and vision for the future - a future that might not include enough children for a public school system, or enough of a year-round job base to fill new "affordable" housing and sustain the booming summer business and real estate market.

But Provincetown can be certain of what's happening now. And for the moment, at least, gay marriage is a very important thing to be promoting.

For the "Las Vegas of gay marriage," it's as much a matter of survival as it is a matter of principle.

Hamilton Kahn, a Wellfleet resident, is the host of "In The News," on WOMR radio in Provincetown.