Gays aim to expand Massachusetts 'marriages'

Gays aim to expand Massachusetts 'marriages'
By Cheryl Wetzstein
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
June 17, 2007

The defeat of a Massachusetts marriage amendment last week may re-energize efforts to repeal a law blocking same-sex couples from out of state from "marrying" there, warns the leader of a group that seeks to protect marriage in the U.S. Constitution.
The larger goal of homosexual-rights activists has always been to redefine marriage at the national level, said Matt Daniels, president and founder of the Alliance for Marriage.

If Massachusetts lawmakers repeal the legal barrier to marriage in their state, same-sex couples from across the nation will travel there, get "married" and sue in federal court to strike down any laws or state amendments in their home states that protect traditional marriage, Mr. Daniels said. The goal, he added, is to make Massachusetts' same-sex "marriage" policy "the new social norm for America."

Massachusetts has allowed same-sex "marriage" since a 2003 court ruling; however, a 1913 law blocks couples from marrying in Massachusetts if they cannot marry in their home states. Because no other state allows same-sex "marriage," this law has effectively restricted same-sex "marriage" to couples who live in Massachusetts.

On Thursday, the state legislature voted 151-45 to kill a citizen-supported amendment aimed at ending same-sex "marriage." Lawmakers are expected to move quickly to strike the 1913 law, Mr. Daniels said, adding that the Democrat-led Congress is unlikely to do anything to discourage the de facto opening of same-sex "marriage" to the nation.

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