US gays vow to press marriage fight nationwideBOSTON -- Gay rights advocates vowed Tuesday to press for full marriage rights for same-sex couples across the nation even as conservatives campaigned to undo the legal gay unions that just began in Massachusetts.
Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples lined up for marriage licenses and dozens exchanged wedding vows Monday, when Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to allow same-sex marriage. Kevin Cathcart, executive director of gay rights group Lambda Legal, called the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts "an incredible breakthrough" but noted the state is only one of 50 in the nation. "No one should have to go to another state or another country in order to get their marriage recognized," he said. "So we can't and we won't stop until we have equality in marriage nationwide." Cathcart noted that courts in California, New Jersey, New York and Washington are considering lawsuits seeking same-sex marriage rights, and he predicted more state supreme court rulings similar to the landmark one by Massachusetts' highest court that ordered the state to begin marrying gay couples. The Massachusetts ruling that allowed gay marriage said anything less would make gays second-class citizens. "I don't think Massachusetts is going to be out there on its own for terribly long," he said. Legal challenges are also expected to arise from same-sex couples who marry in Massachusetts and try to have their unions recognized in other states. CONSTITUTIONAL BATTLES AHEAD Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney warned city and town clerks that they could issue licenses to out-of-state couples only if they plan on settling in Massachusetts, but some communities ignored the governor and issued marriage licenses to all gay couples, regardless of residency. A survey by The Boston Globe indicated that of 752 same-sex couples who requested marriage licenses Monday, 10 percent were from out of state. As Massachusetts joined Belgium, the Netherlands and three Canadian provinces in legalizing gay marriage, President Bush renewed his call for a constitutional amendment banning the unions. In Massachusetts, conservatives promised to intensify efforts to amend the state constitution to clearly define marriage as the exclusive union of one man and one woman. The drive cleared a big hurdle recently when state lawmakers approved a measure that would limit marriage to heterosexual couples but let gays form "civil unions." But the measure must be passed by legislators again next year in order for it to go before voters in 2006 at the earliest. In the interim, gay marriage opponents are looking toward November's legislative elections when they plan to target state lawmakers who voted against the proposed amendment while supporting those who favored it. "We'll remember in November," said Ray McNulty, spokesman for the Massachusetts Family Institute. "We know who was with us and who was against us." But Lambda Legal's Cathcart predicted support for the proposed amendment would fade over time.
"By the time it can possibly go on the ballot in 2006, the people of Massachusetts are going to have had 2-1/2 years of waking up every day and seeing that the sky didn't fall," he said. "By that time, other states will have recognized the right to legal marriage for same-sex couples, so Massachusetts won't be unique." © Copyright 2004 Reuters. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Reuters or its third-party content providers. Any copying, republication, or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
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