GAY MARRIAGE A STEP CLOSER
NYT/AP reports, High Court in Massachusetts Rules Gays Have Right to Marry
Massachusetts’ highest court ruled Tuesday that same-sex couples are legally entitled to wed under the state constitution, but stopped short of allowing marriage licenses to be issued to the couples who challenged the law.
The Supreme Judicial Court’s 4-3 ruling ordered the Legislature to come up with a solution within 180 days.
The ruling closely matches the 1999 Vermont Supreme Court decision, which led to its Legislature’s approval in 2000 of civil unions that give couples many of the same benefits of marriage.
The decision is the latest in a series of victories for gay rights advocates, but fell short of what the seven couples who sued the state had hoped to receive: the right to marry their longtime companion.
The Massachusetts question will now return to the Legislature, which already is considering a constitutional amendment that would legally define a marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The state’s powerful Speaker of the House, Tom Finneran of Boston, has endorsed this proposal.
A similar initiative, launched by citizens, was defeated by the Legislature last year on a procedural vote.
Interesting. Of course, this is merely an interpretation of state law, and one which may be overturned by the political process in the state. But, if it holds up, we should expect gay couples flocking to Massachussets to get married. We’ll then have a test of Defense of Marriage Act and other federal attempts to prevent the Full Faith and Credit Clause from applying under these circumstances.
