Governor Patrick Signs Repeal of 1913 Law
Update: The anti-gay group MassResistance has filed paperwork for a referendum essentially to repeal the repeal of the 1913 law. In a letter, the Attorney General’s office deemed that the question meets the constitutional requirements for a referendum. MassResistance must now gather the signatures of 33,297 voters by October 29, 2008 in order to get the question on the November 2010 ballot. GLAD will oppose the effort at every step. To read more:
In a State House signing ceremony on July 31, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a bill repealing the “1913” law that prevented same-sex couples from most other states from marrying here. The bill passed in the Senate on July 15, and in the House July 29. The new law went into effect immediately, and couples from all states are now able to come to Massachusetts to marry.
This is great news for all of us who support equality and possibly even greater news for couples who wish to marry. If you are considering getting married in Massachusetts, please refer to the following documents for helpful information. If you have specific questions, please contact GLAD’s InfoLine.