Short Fuse

April 4, 2007

Marriage rights: Dump this outdated law

In 1913, when state legislators prohibited out-of-staters from marrying in Massachusetts if their unions would be invalid at home, the targets were interracial couples, not same-sex ones. The new Senate president, Therese Murray, says she favors repeal of that law. So do Governor Patrick and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi. All three are right; it's high time to take it off the books.

The problem isn't just that the law's origins are repugnant; it also forces authorities here to interpret the marriage laws of other states. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Thomas Connolly ruled in September that Rhode Island gay couples can marry in Massachusetts, after concluding that nothing in Rhode Island law prohibits those marriages. Other states can enforce their own statutes. If other states choose to discriminate, this state should not lift a finger to help them.

Foreclosures: Tell it to the judge

Amid a major crackup in the subprime mortgage industry, Secretary of State William Galvin is asking the Legislature to require judicial review of foreclosures on owner-occupied homes. This idea ought to become law. In most other states, it already is -- because the stakes in home-foreclosure cases are so high.

No, the state can't protect people from the consequences of bad decisions or bad luck. But state rules do prohibit mortgage brokers from massaging income data on loan applications and from withholding crucial information about the terms of the mortgage. A judge can make sure that the mortgage in question was executed properly. In most cases, the hearing could well be pro forma. But judicial review would give the mortgage system one more nudge toward sanity, and away from the excesses of the go-go years of the real-estate boom.

Music downloads: Unrestricted is better

Good for EMI for deciding to sell its songs on Apple's iTunes without the anti copying protections it and other music companies had previously demanded. EMI is the smallest of the four majors, and has less to lose. Its larger rivals in this stodgy industry fear to try something untested.

They hearken to a time, less than a decade ago, when music lovers had to buy CDs to listen to their favorite artists. Now with songs flying across the Internet, often via illegal but unstoppable file-sharing services, that business model is in danger of failing.

Steve Jobs, the Apple CEO, was right to suggest they all remove the anti copying codes. Had they done so a few years ago, the industry would have an easier time selling downloads to paying consumers today. As the EMI experiment begins, the industry can only hope is not too late to maintain popular music recording as a viable business.