Justices of the peace confront dilemmas on gay marriage

John Vozzella is not a fan of gay marriage. He calls the decision from the state's highest court allowing same-sex couples to wed "ridiculous" and hopes voters eventually amend the state constitution to ban it.

But starting May 17, Vozzella may be required to marry gay couples who request his services. As a justice of the peace, a gubernatorially appointed position, he has the authority to perform wedding ceremonies.

Although there has been no definitive legal ruling, many observers believe that justices of the peace cannot refuse to marry couples because they are gay. And so, a month before the first gay couples may legally marry in Massachusetts, some justices of the peace who oppose same-sex marriage may simply resign.

"There is a possibility I would just turn in my appointment," said Vozzella, who owns an insurance agency and lives in Walpole. "From what I've heard, there's a lot of people who feel that way."

The prospect of gay marriage has led to soul searching among some justices of the peace. Many who personally oppose same-sex marriage say they will perform gay weddings if asked; they have sworn to uphold the law, they say, even if it violates their own beliefs.

But others say their feelings are so strong that they cannot imagine officiating at the wedding of a same-sex couple.

"I don't favor the thing," said Edward Stapinski, a Haverhill justice of the peace for 25 years. "To me, it's against my principles. It's against my ethics." Stapinski said he plans to continue working as a justice of the peace. But if he is forced to marry gay couples, he said, he would resign.

The Massachusetts Justices of the Peace Association, which has about 500 members, has asked Governor Mitt Romney whether members will be required to marry gay couples. So far, the group has not received an answer, although a lawyer in the office of Romney's legal counsel has agreed to meet with them April 25.

Shawn Feddeman, a spokeswoman for Romney, said the justices of the peace will receive "appropriate guidance" at that meeting, but declined to elaborate.

Jonathan Zittrain, a Harvard Law School professor and a justice of the peace, argues that refusing to perform same-sex weddings violates the central tenet of the Supreme Judicial Court decision last November -- that banning gay couples from marrying is unconstitutional. "The justice's job is not to judge people who are seeking to get married," he said via e-mail. "Rather, it's to witness and record their solemn oaths under the law, and perhaps to contribute to making the ceremony as meaningful as possible."

In Massachusetts, justices of the peace are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Governor's Council for seven-year terms. Their number is limited; each city and town is entitled to one justice of the peace for every 5,000 residents. Justices cannot charge more than $75 for each wedding they perform in their hometown, or $125 for weddings in the rest of the state.

The state constitution gives the governor, with the consent of the governor's council, the right to remove justices of the peace. But since Romney opposes gay marriage, observers doubt he would seek to remove those who refuse to perform same-sex weddings.

There is little legal precedent for taking action against justices of the peace, Zittrain said. A gay couple turned down by a justice of the peace could possibly seek a court injunction against the justice, he said.

Many justices of the peace said they had not been asked to perform a gay wedding. That may change. Since some churches refuse to marry gay couples, many same-sex couples will turn to justices of the peace.

"We have some that are very, very up to doing it," said Claire M. Mentus, president of the justices' association. "We've had some that have reasons of their own and decided that they couldn't possibly do it."

As some justices of the peace debate whether to marry gay couples, others have already performed civil commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples and advertised that they will marry gay couples. "If people are in love and they want to get married, I have no problem with that at all," said Marie Arria, a justice from Watertown. "I love marrying people. I'm crying half the time."

But Maria Taylor, a Catholic, has personal reservations about gay marriage. Married for 41 years, she said, "I'm old fashioned."

She has never volunteered to perform a commitment ceremony for a gay couple. After the SJC decision came down, she thought hard before she decided she would marry gay couples.

"[As] a justice of the peace, I agree to represent the law of the Commonwealth," said Taylor, who lives in Abington.

Richard Remmes is a Wrentham labor lawyer who became a justice of the peace three years ago. Although he is also Catholic, his decision to marry gay couples came more easily. Gay marriage is a civil, not a religious, issue, he believes.

"Catholics don't recognize divorce," he said. "Yet there's a lot of Catholic judges that grant divorces."

Kathleen Burge can be reached at kburge@globe.com.