Critics say Massachusetts bill could aid growth of same-sex marriage

Published: 2008-07-17

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Catholic bishops of Massachusetts have opposed a bill that would repeal a 1913 law used to bar most out-of-state same-sex couples from marrying in the commonwealth. The bishops and other critics of the bill believe giving marriage licenses to out-of-state couples whose home state doesn't legally recognize such unions would open the door for legal challenges in other jurisdictions. DignityUSA, an unofficial Catholic support group for gay Catholics and their families, applauded the legislation and said it would be another step toward "putting our families on equal footing with other families." The Massachusetts Senate passed the bill July 15 and the House was expected to vote on the measure before the end of July. The law was originally instituted at a time when many states in the U.S. were trying to keep interracial couples from crossing state lines to wed, but it eventually fell into obscurity. However, once Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in 2004, then-Gov. Mitt Romney began enforcing the law to prevent gay couples from coming to the state to marry and initiating litigation aimed at forcing their home state to recognize their civil marriage.

Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .