May 21, 2004  |  By: JOE CREA  | COMMENTS     

BOSTON — Even as Massachusetts on May 17 became the first state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Republican Gov. Mitt Romney was considering legal action against city clerks disobeying his edict not to issue licenses to out-of-state gay couples.

Clerks in a handful of Massachusetts cities —Worcester, Springfield, Provincetown and Somerville — have ignored Romney’s interpretation of a 1913 statute that bars Massachusetts from granting marriage licenses to out-of-state residents who cannot legally marry in their home state.

The governor’s office requested that town clerks send via overnight mail copies of all the marriage applications — same-sex and straight — processed on Monday and Tuesday, the first days that gay marriages were legal in the state.

Mary Bonauto, the lawyer who successfully argued the Goodridge vs. Department of Public Health case that legalized gay marriage in Massachusetts, said it is rumored that Romney intends to go to court and use copies of the marriage applications in an attempt to block city officials from issuing licenses to out-of-state gay couples.

“Let’s wait and see what he does,” Bonauto said. “Unfortunately this 1913 law is still on the books and it does create an issue for these [out-of-state] marriages.”

The law may not be on the books for long. The Massachusetts Senate voted 28-3 to repeal the 1913 law. The repeal was included in the budget the Senate passed on Wednesday.

House Speaker Thomas Finneran (D-Boston), who opposes gay marriage, told the AP on Wednesday that he did not believe the House would approve the repeal as part of the compromise budget, which must be voted up or down without amendment. Even if the House approved of the repeal, it faces a certain veto from the governor.

Mary Power, assistant city clerk in Springfield, said her office sent copies of the marriage applications to Romney’s office. She said the town clerk processed 19 same-sex marriage applications on Monday in addition to one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday. She said her office is waiting to hear if the governor was able to secure an injunction.

It was unclear how many out-of-state licenses were processed.

Shawn Fedderman, a Romney spokesperson, declined to comment on potential penalties town clerks might face for defying Romney’s orders. She said that the governor’s office is in the process of collecting information before any decision to seek an injunction is made.

She confirmed receipt of marriage applications from Provincetown and Springfield but said no information had been received from Somerville and Worcester. Fedderman expressed confidence that they would comply.

The Worcester and Somerville town clerks did not return calls by press time.

City officials said Boston processed 99 same-sex marriage licenses on Monday and 14 on Tuesday. Cambridge issued 227 licenses after midnight on Monday. Officials say 41 were issued throughout Monday. Brookline issued 77 on Monday and two on Tuesday.

Mass. neighbors react
In neighboring Rhode Island, the state’s attorney general said on Monday that based on his interpretation of the state’s law, Rhode Island must recognize the marriages of same-sex couples who legally wed in Massachusetts.

“This office’s review of Rhode Island law suggests that Rhode Island would recognize any marriage validly performed in another state unless doing so would run contrary to the strong public policy of this state,” Attorney General Patrick Lynch said in a statement.

Michael Healey, public information officer for the attorney general, has urged gay couples in Rhode Island to consult with a private attorney before they decide to get married in Massachusetts.

The opinion issued in Rhode Island differed from neighboring Connecticut, where Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Connecticut law does not permit gay marriage but declined to say whether the state would recognize married gay couples from Massachusetts.

On Sunday, same-sex marriage rallies in Connecticut were broken up by police because of a suspicious canister found near the Capitol in Hartford. Authorities said they were working to test the container’s contents and police said there were no injuries.

About 700 gay couples, their children and supporters gathered in support of recognizing gay marriages in Connecticut. About 115 opponents of gay marriage were on hand.

Kerry fumbles; Bush scores
As gay couples received marriage licenses on Monday, both President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, appearing at separate events in Topeka, Kan., to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education. Both sought to avoid offering any major public commentary on the weddings.

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