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Dozens of Gays Wed Legally in Massachusetts

Mon May 17, 5:40 PM ET

By Greg Frost

BOSTON (Reuters) - Dozens of gays exchanged wedding vows on Monday when Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to allow same-sex marriage, a move hailed by some as a civil rights milestone and denounced by others as a fatal blow to a centuries-old tradition.

President Bush renewed his call for a constitutional amendment banning the unions as Massachusetts joined Belgium, the Netherlands and two Canadian provinces in legalizing gay marriage.

Tanya McCloskey and Marcia Kadish, partners for 18 years, were among the first gay couples in the state to tie the knot in a simple ceremony in the famously liberal enclave of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"What a way to celebrate the wonderful freedoms in this country. To celebrate in love -- it's fabulous," McCloskey, 52, told reporters. "I'm so proud to be an American."

Cambridge officials conducted at least 22 gay weddings on Monday and Boston officials presided over more than a dozen. Hundreds more are expected across the state in the coming days -- everything from simple beachfront ceremonies to solemn church services -- in what could be a boon to the local economy.

Tearful well-wishers packed the pews at a Boston church to watch the wedding of Robert Compton and David Wilson, one of seven couples whose 2001 lawsuit led to last year's court order permitting same-sex marriage.

The first gay marriages came on the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision ending segregation in public schools, and many see the gay marriage issue as the major civil rights issue of the modern age.

MARRIAGE LICENSES OR 'DEATH CERTIFICATES'?

In a written statement, Bush said marriage should not be "redefined by a few activist judges" -- prompting a gay rights group to liken his stance to the attacks on the justices who upheld African-Americans' civil rights a half-century ago.

"These are different issues and a different generation, but the same old smear tactic," said Kevin Cathcart, executive director of Lambda Legal.

Gay marriage opponents generally kept a low profile as hundreds prepared to wed, but a handful of anti-gay protesters turned out with signs like "God Hates Fags" and some conservative activists cried foul.

"The documents being issued across Massachusetts may say 'marriage license' at the top but they are really death certificates for the institution of marriage as it has served society for thousands of years," said James Dobson, head of Christian group Focus on the Family.

Thousands of same-sex couples were married in San Francisco earlier this year, but the marriages were not recognized by the state of California. A mayor in New York state is being prosecuted after performing gay marriages in February.

Some Massachusetts clerks issued licenses to out-of-state gay couples who came here in defiance of Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, who told them to stay home amid fears his state could become "the Las Vegas of same-sex marriage."

Romney based his warning on a 1913 state law that prevents Massachusetts from marrying any couple if the marriage would be "void" back home -- a statute originally enacted to curb interracial marriage.

John Sullivan and Chris McCary of Anniston, Alabama, were among the first out-of-state couples to wed in Provincetown, a gay seaside resort whose officials ignored Romney's warnings.

Sullivan and McCary said they would try to have their union legalized back home -- a move likely to wind up in court because Alabama does not recognize same-sex unions.

"Our license might not be worth anything in Alabama, but it will some day," said McCary, 43.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a legal opinion that same-sex marriages were not legal in the state, while his counterpart in Rhode Island said legal Massachusetts gay marriages would be recognized in his state. (Additional reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Mark Wilkinson and Kevin McNicholas)