Moving to Marry in Massachusetts

July 11, 2006 10:16 AM

Are there any documented cases of gay men or lesbians moving to Massachusetts to take advantage of our marriage laws? Has anyone written profiles of people or couples who have done this?
posted by alms to society & culture (10 comments total)

From a recent MetaFilter post.
posted by SeizeTheDay at 10:29 AM on July 11, 2006

I've been sort of wondering, in a waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop kind of way, why we haven't seen a full-faith-and-credit test case go to the Supremes on this yet.

Anyone heard anything on that point?
posted by baylink at 10:49 AM on July 11, 2006

baylink: "I've been sort of wondering, in a waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop kind of way, why we haven't seen a full-faith-and-credit test case go to the Supremes on this yet."

Yeah, it's called the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and Wikipedia says that it allows "...each state (or similar political division in the United States) to deny Constitutional marital rights between persons of the same sex which have been recognized in another state." There's some good discussion there about the constitutionality (never been decided by SCOTUS) and even whether it was constitutionally necessary.
posted by Plutor at 11:14 AM on July 11, 2006

I've been sort of wondering, in a waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop kind of way, why we haven't seen a full-faith-and-credit test case go to the Supremes on this yet.

You probably won't see a case brought until a married-in-Mass. gay couple is either arrested or otherwise legally harassed by some dickhead D.A. in another state.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:59 AM on July 11, 2006

Yeah, Thorzdad. The implication of "test case" is that I was wondering why some couple who lived in Mass before marrying for some time, and stayed there since, hasn't now moved, and lived "openly and notoriously" as a married couple in some other state, specifically to test the Constitution's primacy on this point.
posted by baylink at 12:06 PM on July 11, 2006

baylink, think a better, more viable test case would be one where a couple wasn't intentionally trying to bring down the heat. Courts famously disfavor such antics. A better case would be one where a Mass.-married couple is travelling somewhere and gets their motel room door kicked-in by the local deputies. Something where the couple is not acting flagrantly and trying to draw attention. A quiet couple minding their own business...not "shoving it in our faces" as the anti-gay crown would put it.
A case like that, I think, would be far more successful.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:29 PM on July 11, 2006

ahem

I guess I didn't phrase my question clearly enough. Let's try again:

Are there any documented cases of gay men or lesbians moving to Massachusetts to take advantage of our marriage laws?

I'm not talking about people visiting here, getting married, and then hoping some legal challenge will force their home state to recognize the marriage. I'm talking about a couple saying "Screw New York (or Texas, or Georgia, or California, or Ohio...). We're going to live somewhere where we can get married and be respected. We'll sell our home, get new jobs, and move to Massachusetts to build our lives together."

You'd think there'd be some heartwarming stories of commitment to tell. That's what I was wondering.


I have followed this issue pretty closely. I have a good friend who used to work at the law firm that argued the winning side of the Goodrich decision legalizing marriage here. Ever since that May 17th when marriage became legal, I've expected that some gay couples would want to relocate and become citizens of our commonwealth. But, for whatever reason, that either hasn't happened or else no one has found these people and written about them.

You'd think there'd be some heartwarming stories of commitment out there, just waiting to be told.
posted by alms at 12:51 PM on July 11, 2006

I know at least one couple who moved to Mass for this reason; they got married a week ago. I have plenty of other friends (gay and straight) who have made a point of staying in Mass for this reason. (I went to college there, so admittedly my sample is skewed.)

I also know straight couples who have made a point of having their marriage in Mass in solidarity. Wedding business is big bucks, too.

I don't know offhand of any human interest articles or academic studies on it, though.
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:47 PM on July 11, 2006

@Thorz: "openly and notoriously" was merely legal jargon; I didn't expect someone to make a big fuss. But my apologies to alms for dragging the thread slightly off topic.
posted by baylink at 7:13 PM on July 11, 2006

Nobody's going to kick in the door and arrest a gay couple who holds themselves out to their red-state neighbors as being married. That's unconstitutional under Lawrence v. Texas. The state DA doesn't care if you call yourself married, Martian, pope, whatever. The legal challenge would be brought when the state governent denies a specific benefit, such as hospital visitation, that is otherwise available to married couples. But with the growing prevalence of domestic partner legislation, even those "sub-marital" rights are being recognized in a large number of states.

Make no mistake, I think the Goodridge decision was heroic, and clearly correct as a matter of law. But real change needs to happen in the legislatures.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 7:58 PM on July 11, 2006