ATTLEBORO, MASSACHUSETTS - Massachusetts on Sunday was the site of the first legal marriage of a lesbian couple from Rhode Island who won the right to marry in the state.Wendy Becker and Mary Norton of Providence were married in an afternoon ceremony in Attleboro's Capron Park, and was witnessed by nearly 50 people.
After they were denied a marriage license in Massachusetts, the couple challenged a 1913 state law that forbade out-of-state residents from marrying if they were not be permitted in their home state. They based their argument on the fact that same-sex marriage was not specifically banned in Rhode Island.
The AP reports that the Superior Court Judge Thomas Connolly finally agreed to their arguments in September, saying he saw no evidence of a "constitutional amendment, statute, or controlling appellate decision" that made same-sex marriage illegal in Rhode Island.
While the couple is considered legally married in Massachusetts, they are only domestic partners in Rhode Island.
After the newlyweds nuptials, Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri, a Republican who also opposes same sex marriage -said through a spokesman that he has no plans to try to revise the state's laws.
The couple has been living in the same house for 18 years and has two children, 3-year-old Mickey and 6-year-old Hannah. Becker works at Rhode Island College and Norton at Brown Medical School.
They both decided to get married almost as soon as the ruling was issued Sept. 29.
"People take a year to pull off a wedding, so it's been a busy few days, but we've been emotionally planning since much longer than that," Becker said.
from All Headline News
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