News Release

Boston, MA – Today, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that same-sex couples from states where same-sex marriage is banned cannot marry in Massachusetts. The state’s highest court based the ruling on a 1913 state law that is designed to prevent the state from becoming a marriage mill. The decision is Cote-Whitacre v. Department of Public Health.

The 1913 law says that residents from other states may not obtain a marriage license from Massachusetts if their state of residence does not recognize the Massachusetts marriage. Eight same-sex couples from other states challenged the law, arguing that it conflicts with the 2003 Goodridge v. Department of Public Health decision, which made Massachusetts the first state to legalize same-sex marriage. Today’s ruling rejected the challenge brought by the same-sex couples and upheld the 1913 law. The result of today’s decision means that any couple who obtained a Massachusetts same-sex marriage license will find that their license is void, because Massachusetts is the only state that recognizes same-sex marriage. This ruling effectively means that anyone seeking a same-sex marriage license must become a resident of Massachusetts.

Liberty Counsel argued at the Vermont Supreme Court, in the case of Miller v. Jenkins, that a similar law in Vermont voids any same-sex civil union obtained by residents of other states. Vermont’s law provides that a nonresident cannot visit Vermont to obtain a marriage if the marriage would not be recognized in their home state. Same-sex civil unions in Vermont are treated as marriage, so the law also prohibits same-sex couples from obtaining civil unions that are invalid in their own state. We are awaiting a decision from the Vermont Supreme Court.

Liberty Counsel President and General Counsel Mathew D. Staver stated: “One state should not be able to cause havoc in other states by creating a haven for nonresidents seeking legal recognition of their same-sex relationships. I am pleased that today’s decision has ended the same-sex marriage mill in Massachusetts. Whoever obtained a Massachusetts same-sex marriage while not living in the state now has a worthless piece of paper. Although today’s decision is a major setback to the same-sex marriage movement, we cannot rest until the federal Constitution is amended to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”

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"Same-Sex Marriage: Putting Every Household at Risk"


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