Aqua
07-27-2007, 12:15 PM
(SF)
Original Story Here (http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/27/same_sex_couples_from_nm_allowed_to_marry_in_mass/)
Bay State agency clarifies ruling
By David Abel, Globe Staff
Same-sex couples from New Mexico are now eligible to marry in Massachusetts, state officials ruled this month, after determining that the Southwestern state does not explicitly ban gay marriage.
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The Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which oversees the state's Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, issued the ruling after a gay rights group in Massachusetts asked the agency to clarify whether the state would authorize the marriage of gay couples from New Mexico.
Rhode Island, which also does not explicitly ban same-sex marriage, had been the only other state whose gay residents can marry legally in Massachusetts.
Neither state has agreed to recognize the marriages.
On July 18, Stanley E. Nyberg, the state's registrar of Vital Records and Statistics, issued a notice to city and town clerks that a Supreme Judicial Court ruling last year does not prohibit gay couples from New Mexico from marrying in Massachusetts.
The court ruled that gay couples from other states could not marry in Massachusetts if their state explicitly banned same-sex marriage.
"Effective immediately, Intentions to Marry completed by same-sex couples from New Mexico who seek licenses to marry in Massachusetts may be accepted," Nyberg wrote. "Under applicable Massachusetts law . . . New Mexico's laws do not prohibit marriage between parties of the same gender."
Gay rights advocates in New Mexico, who have been pushing for domestic partnership rights, said the decision should help their campaign.
Linda Siegle, a lobbyist for Equality New Mexico, which favors same-sex marriage, said she knows of at least three couples who have married in Massachusetts.
"I think this decision is a sign of hope for the whole country," she said.
"As more and more states get full equality and fairness for our people, it's beneficial," she said.
John Auerbach, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, said he did not know how many gay couples from New Mexico have married in Massachusetts.
But he said the decision means those who have married do not have to apply for new licenses.
No person or agency in New Mexico has challenged the legality of a same-sex marriage performed in Massachusetts, according to Phil Sisneros, a spokesman for New Mexico Attorney General Gary K. King.
"We're not prone to tell Massachusetts how to interpret New Mexico law," Sisneros said. "If and when the issue comes up, we'll address it."
Two bills that would have banned same-sex marriage in New Mexico died after a House committee tabled them in February.
A domestic partnership bill, which would have provided gay couples rights similar to those of married couples, passed the state's House this year and came one vote short of passing in the state's Senate.
Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, said his office will seek to recognize gay marriages next year, when he reintroduces a domestic partnership bill that failed to win passage this year.
The 2008 bill, Gallegos said, will include provisions extending domestic partnership rights and benefits to couples who qualify for them in their home state.
Gay marriage has been legal in Massachusetts since 2004.
Shortly afterward, as couples from other states began lining up for state marriage licenses, Governor Mitt Romney cited a 1913 law that barred couples from marrying in Massachusetts if they could not marry legally in their own state.
The SJC ruled last year that the law applied only to states where same-sex marriage is explicitly banned.
Massachusetts has also recognized the marriage of about 170 gay couples from New York who married in the Bay State before a New York court barred gay marriage in 2006.
Original Story Here (http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/27/same_sex_couples_from_nm_allowed_to_marry_in_mass/)
Bay State agency clarifies ruling
By David Abel, Globe Staff
Same-sex couples from New Mexico are now eligible to marry in Massachusetts, state officials ruled this month, after determining that the Southwestern state does not explicitly ban gay marriage.
Article Tools
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which oversees the state's Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, issued the ruling after a gay rights group in Massachusetts asked the agency to clarify whether the state would authorize the marriage of gay couples from New Mexico.
Rhode Island, which also does not explicitly ban same-sex marriage, had been the only other state whose gay residents can marry legally in Massachusetts.
Neither state has agreed to recognize the marriages.
On July 18, Stanley E. Nyberg, the state's registrar of Vital Records and Statistics, issued a notice to city and town clerks that a Supreme Judicial Court ruling last year does not prohibit gay couples from New Mexico from marrying in Massachusetts.
The court ruled that gay couples from other states could not marry in Massachusetts if their state explicitly banned same-sex marriage.
"Effective immediately, Intentions to Marry completed by same-sex couples from New Mexico who seek licenses to marry in Massachusetts may be accepted," Nyberg wrote. "Under applicable Massachusetts law . . . New Mexico's laws do not prohibit marriage between parties of the same gender."
Gay rights advocates in New Mexico, who have been pushing for domestic partnership rights, said the decision should help their campaign.
Linda Siegle, a lobbyist for Equality New Mexico, which favors same-sex marriage, said she knows of at least three couples who have married in Massachusetts.
"I think this decision is a sign of hope for the whole country," she said.
"As more and more states get full equality and fairness for our people, it's beneficial," she said.
John Auerbach, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, said he did not know how many gay couples from New Mexico have married in Massachusetts.
But he said the decision means those who have married do not have to apply for new licenses.
No person or agency in New Mexico has challenged the legality of a same-sex marriage performed in Massachusetts, according to Phil Sisneros, a spokesman for New Mexico Attorney General Gary K. King.
"We're not prone to tell Massachusetts how to interpret New Mexico law," Sisneros said. "If and when the issue comes up, we'll address it."
Two bills that would have banned same-sex marriage in New Mexico died after a House committee tabled them in February.
A domestic partnership bill, which would have provided gay couples rights similar to those of married couples, passed the state's House this year and came one vote short of passing in the state's Senate.
Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, said his office will seek to recognize gay marriages next year, when he reintroduces a domestic partnership bill that failed to win passage this year.
The 2008 bill, Gallegos said, will include provisions extending domestic partnership rights and benefits to couples who qualify for them in their home state.
Gay marriage has been legal in Massachusetts since 2004.
Shortly afterward, as couples from other states began lining up for state marriage licenses, Governor Mitt Romney cited a 1913 law that barred couples from marrying in Massachusetts if they could not marry legally in their own state.
The SJC ruled last year that the law applied only to states where same-sex marriage is explicitly banned.
Massachusetts has also recognized the marriage of about 170 gay couples from New York who married in the Bay State before a New York court barred gay marriage in 2006.