SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT

Reader J.G. checks in with some more info on Massachusetts gay marriage:

You note that our esteemed Governor plans to keep out-of-state gay couples from marrying using a 1913 law, originally intended to prevent interracial couples from marrying in Massachusetts if their marriage was illegal in their home state.

As it turns out, this statute remains on the books, but -- like many other outdated laws in Mass. -- is actively not enforced:

[quoted from the Boston Globe]

Marriage eligibility wasn't enforced
Clerks in state told to skip status
By Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff | April 28, 2004

For 27 years, the state has specifically instructed city and town clerks not to enforce eligibility requirements for marriage applicants, including a residency requirement that Governor Mitt Romney wants to use to block out-of-state gay couples from marrying in Massachusetts.

[. . .]

Apparently it's only necessary to require enforcement if a population segment is getting, ah, uppity.

But wait, I thought Massachusetts was too liberal for the rest of the country?

I'm so confused...


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