Poor Loser

Same-sex couples have won a battle in Massachusetts, But Governor Mitt Romney won't let them have their moment of victory in peace. Not that you'd expect anything less...

One day after the start of same-sex marriages in Massachusetts, Gov. Mitt Romney demanded copies of marriage applications from four cities and towns that are defying his order not to marry out-of-state couples.

[snip]

For weeks, Mr. Romney, an opponent of same-sex marriage, has been saying that gay and lesbian residents of other states cannot marry in Massachusetts unless they intend to move here. He has said he does not want Massachusetts to become "the Las Vegas of same-sex marriage."

The governor has threatened to fine or criminally prosecute town clerks who issue licenses to out-of-state couples, and he has said that the state will not record those marriages and will inform the couples that their marriages are "null and void." The demand for the license applications on Tuesday appeared to be the first step in that process.

[snip]

Mr. Romney's stance on out-of-state couples is based on a 1913 law, adopted in part to bar interracial marriages. The law says the state cannot marry out-of-state couples if their marriage would be void in the couples' home states. The governor has interpreted that to mean that since no other state will marry same-sex couples, Massachusetts can marry only its own residents or those who swear under oath that they intend to move here.

Some wedding parties are probably still going on, the last piece of cake yet to be eaten, the cork in the last bottle of bubbly yet to be popped. Bigots, it seems, never rest.