Mass. Residency Proof Not Required for Gay Marriage
Out-of-State Couples Can't Legally Wed There

By Jonathan Finer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 5, 2004; Page A03

BARNSTABLE, Mass., May 4 -- A top legal adviser to Gov. Mitt Romney (R) told a gathering of city and town clerks Tuesday that marriage licenses issued in Massachusetts to same-sex couples from other states will be "null and void" and could have serious legal consequences for the couples involved.

But Daniel B. Winslow also said that couples need not provide evidence of residency and that those who "intend to reside" in the state are eligible to receive marriage licenses, opening the door for some out-of-state gay couples to marry here when such unions become legal on May 17.

A sworn statement at the bottom of marriage forms is sufficient evidence, and no further proof is necessary, Winslow said.

"What this means is it is not up to us to be the police for this whole particular process," said Linda E. Hutchenrider, president of the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association, who said the meeting had cleared up confusion over how the controversial law would be enforced. "It will be up to couples to make honest statements."

A landmark ruling by the state's Supreme Judicial Court last November made Massachusetts the only state in the country where same-sex marriage is legal.

Romney, who strongly opposes gay marriage, said last week that same-sex couples from elsewhere would be denied marriage licenses under a 1913 law that prohibits people from marrying in Massachusetts if their home state would not allow them to marry legally.

In recent weeks, a growing number of local officials had said that they would not seek to verify where couples applying for marriage licenses lived. The 1913 law, which was enacted in part to preserve other states' bans against interracial marriage, has not been enforced in decades, several clerks said.

"I think it was increasingly clear that the governor was facing a rebellion and local elected officials were unwilling to act as instruments of unjust laws and policies," said Joshua Friedes, advocacy director of the Freedom to Marry Coalition of Massachusetts. "To some extent, the governor has backed down."