Massachusetts Affirms Marriages of New York Same-Sex Couples
Massachusetts should not have barred lesbian and gay couples from New York from marrying in Massachusetts prior to July 6, 2006, according to a judgment entered by a Massachusetts court on May 10, 2007. The ruling means that New York couples who married in Massachusetts before July 6, 2006 have a fully valid marriage. Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), who fought for the right of out-of-state couples to marry in the state, hailed the decision today.
The latest action is a holdover from the “1913” case, Cote-Whitacre v. Department of Public Health, in which GLAD represented 8 couples from other states who married or attempted to marry in Massachusetts before Governor Mitt Romney barred them.
“Today’s decision lifts a legal cloud from these marriages,” said GLAD staff attorney Michele Granda. “The Romney ban never should have applied to these couples, and their marriages should now be treated as the fully valid, legal unions that they are.”
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in March 2006 that couples from states with no “express prohibition” against same-sex marriage could marry in Massachusetts. On remand, Judge Thomas Connolly of Suffolk Superior Court ruled that New York same-sex couples could not marry in Massachusetts as a result of the New York Court of Appeals’ July 6, 2006 decision in New York’s marriage equality lawsuit, Hernandez v. Robles.
GLAD returned to court on behalf of the New York couple in the case, Tanya Wexler and Amy Zimmerman, who married in Massachusetts in May, 2004. Judge Connolly’s most recent action now clarifies that Massachusetts marriages licenses issued to New York same-sex couples before July 6, 2006 are completely valid and never should have been put into question by the 1913 law. The judgment applies to Wexler and Zimmerman and to other New York couples who married before July 6, 2006.
“Our marriage has always been alive and well in our hearts, but knowing that Massachusetts now stands behind our marriage is a welcome relief,” said Tanya and Amy.
Information for gay and lesbian New Yorkers who married in Massachusetts is available on GLAD’s website, http://www.glad.org.
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders is New England’s leading legal organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression.
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Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders is New England's leading legal organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression.