Mass. Gubernatorial candidates weigh in on the 1913 Marriage Law

[Ian David]

Political Notes
Gubernatorial candidates weigh in on the 1913 law
By Laura Kiritsy
Published: Thursday, June 2, 2005

"I think it's a stupid law. It should go the way of all stupid laws - be repealed, and if not repealed, be ignored."

So says Congressman Michael Capuano, the Somerville Democrat, on the once obscure 1913 law forbidding out-of-state couples from marrying in Massachusetts unless their home states would recognize their union as legal. The law was resurrected by Gov. Mitt Romney just before Goodridge was implemented and same-sex couples began marrying in Massachusetts. The net result is that out-of-state same-sex couples have been effectively banned from marrying in Massachusetts. The law is currently being challenged by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) in a case that is headed to the state Supreme Judicial Court later this year. It is also being targeted for repeal by a bill currently before the state legislature.

That's the position Capuano says he would stick to if he was a candidate for governor, but he's not running. At least not yet, anyway. "I doubt that I'll be doing anything," he says, but quickly adds that he can't close the door completely. Capuano says he wants a Democratic nominee who's unafraid to stake out firm positions on the issues and stick to them, and to that end he's very interested to hear what gubernatorial candidates and potential candidates have to say about the 1913 statute. "I never heard of the law before about a year or so ago like everybody else," he says. "But you have to have opinions on these things and I think you should take leadership positions on them." Being a leader means leading, says Capuano, "and that means controversy on occasion."

"Some people think that the way to get elected is to obfuscate everything," says the congressman. "And I guess it has worked for some people in the past but I happen to think that's one reason why politicians are generally held in low esteem. The people that stand for something tend to win elections." As Capuano points out, it's rare that voters agree with candidates on every single issue. "If everyone agreed with me on every single issue - well that's better than my wife of 31 years," he laughs. "It just doesn't work that way." Okay, enough with the veiled criticisms of Attorney General Tom Reilly, the perceived frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. In the last year, Reilly, of course, has gone from opposing same-sex marriage to supporting Goodridge as the current law of the land despite personally believing that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Meanwhile, he has to defend the 1913 law in his capacity as the state's top law enforcement officer.

More:
http://www.baywindows.com/media/paper328/news/2005/06/02/News/Political.Notes-955216.shtml

[whistle]

1. This just proves once again that republican governorship.....

...strategies are based on being spoilers and disrupters in traditionally long standing strongholds of democratic power.