Romney: gay outsiders can't marry in Mass.
The state will prohibit gay couples who live outside of Massachsetts from marrying here when gay marriage becomes legal next month, a senior aide to Governor Mitt Romney said yesterday.
The administration plans to rewrite the application forms that both heterosexual and homosexual couples would fill out for a marriage license to require evidence
of where a couple lives or plans to live, said Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom.
The governor is basing his policy on his interpretation of a 1913 state law, which says that out-of-state couples cannot be married here if their marriage would be ‘‘void’’ in their home state.
‘‘Because of current Massachusetts law, out-of-state couples are prohibited from marrying in Massachusetts if they cannot legally marry in their home state,’’ Fehrnstrom said. ‘‘The governor feels an obligation to carry out the law as it exists.’’
Romney’s interpretation of the 1913 law is more sweeping than an opinion issued last month by Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly. Romney’s decision is certain to
set off anger — and probably a legal challenge -- from gay-rights groups, who have argued that the state has not previously enforced the 1913 law for heterosexual couples who marry. The residency question is key for both sides of the marriage debate, because it will influence how many -- or how few -- same-sex couples ultimately wed in Massachusetts beginning May 17. Under the policy, Fehrnstrom said, all applicants for marriage licenses will fill out the same paperwork regardless of their sexual orientation. The new forms will use gender-neutral terms, and, as they always have, applicants from out of state will have to sign, under pains and penalties of perjury, that there is no impediment to their getting married in their home state.
But now, city and town clerks will be specifically instructed by the state to require proof of residency, a provision that has not been consistently enforced in the past. Examples of acceptable documentation of residency include drivers' licenses, utility bills, telephone listings, deeds, or rental leases, Fehrnstrom said.
"We have taken the common-sense view that gay marriage is not legal anywhere in the United States except Massachusetts starting on May 17," Fehrnstrom said. "That means gay marriage is for Massachusetts residents only unless circumstances change."
As governor, Romney oversees the state Department of Public Health, which administers marriage laws in Massachusetts.
This week, Romney will send letters to the governors and attorneys general of the 49 other states, explaining to them that same-sex marriages are due to start in Massachusetts on May 17, and informing them that it is his administration's view that gay marriage is not legal in their state. The letter will ask other state officials to inform the governor "if we're wrong" about that, Fehrnstrom said.
No other state has legalized gay marriage, and most have laws on the books specifically limiting marriage to heterosexual couples.
The 1913 law has also been the subject of fierce debate in recent weeks, because it was enacted to prohibit the recognition of interracial marriages. Romney is dusting off the law to please social conservatives in the Republican party, said Mary Breslauer, a spokeswoman for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, the legal group that brought the original lawsuit that led to the state's highest court legalizing gay marriage.
"This was a law that had one purpose -- to stop interracial marriage," Breslauer said. "Now Romney wants to resurrect it to build his national profile."
Romney has said publicly he fears the chaos that would ensue if Massachusetts legalizes marriage for gay couples, creating conflict with laws in other states. Breslauer said Romney is fostering confusion himself.
"If there is any confusion, the governor owns it, lock, stock, and barrel," Breslauer said.
Fehrnstrom defended Romney's interpretation of the 1913 law.
"The governor does not have the luxury of choosing which laws to enforce and which ones to ignore," Fehrnstrom said. "He took an oath to enforce all the laws of the Commonwealth."
Romney has tried unsuccessfully to block the decision by the Supreme Judicial Court in 2003 that gays must be allowed to wed from taking effect. Last month, after the Legislature gave initial approval to a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage and create civil unions, Romney announced he wanted to seek a stay of the court's ruling, until after the amendment reaches voters in the 2006 state election.
But Reilly refused to represent Romney, saying the governor needed to accept that the court had spoken, and move on. Legislation giving Romney the authority to seek the stay was blocked by the state Senate.
Reilly said last month that in his opinion the 1913 law prevents out-of-state residents from getting married in Massachusetts if they are not eligible for marriage in their home state -- and 38 states have Defense of Marriage Act laws that define marriage solely as a heterosexual institution. Under Romney's interpretation, no resident of a state that does not explicitly allow gay couples to marry could enter into a same-sex marriage here.
