PROVIDENCE -- Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said today that he sees
nothing preventing Rhode Island from recognizing same-sex marriages
performed in Massachusetts but suggested that lawmakers and the courts
would ultimately decide that question.
"This office's review of Rhode Island law suggests that Rhode Island
would recognize any marriage validly performed in another state unless
doing so would run contrary to the strong public policy of this state,"
Lynch said in a statement issued this afternoon.
Lynch issued the four-paragraph opinion today partly in response to an
inquiry from an unidentified gay couple planning to wed in
Massachusetts, who wanted to know if their union would be recognized in
Rhode Island.
Lynch did not define "strong public policy" in his opinion, but said
"public policy can be determined by statute, legal precedent, and common
law."
He issued his interpretation on the same day that gay couples lined up
at town and city halls around Massachusetts -- the first day they could
legally obtain marriage licenses after a 4-3 ruling by the Massachusetts
Supreme Judicial Court last November made that state the first to
legalize same-sex marriages.
The SJC ruling means that Massachusetts joins the Netherlands, Belgium
and Canada's three most populous provinces as the only places in the
world where gays can marry.
Rhode Island lawmakers are considering opposing bills on same-sex
marriages. The measures include defining marriage as between a man and a
woman, legalizing same-sex marriages and recognizing such unions
performed in another state.
In his statement, Lynch acknowledged that many of the questions about
same-sex marriage in Rhode Island and in other parts of the country will
ultimately come from the courts, not the attorney general.
"Clearly, this is an important issue that stirs strong emotions on both
sides of the debate," Lynch said. "Moreover, it potentially involves the
interpretation of statutes, a constitutional analysis, and the
application of common law principles relating to the relationships
between and among the different states."
But Lynch said a review by his office found that no Rhode Island court
has addressed or interpreted whether or not Rhode Island's marriage laws
permit same-sex couples to marry or whether same-sex marriages, if
performed in Rhode Island, would be void, according to Lynch's statement.
"To date, the only marriages in Rhode Island deemed void, would involve
bigamy, incest or mental incompetence, or marriages in which one or both
of the parties never intended to be married," Lynch said.
State Rep. Victor Moffitt, R-Coventry, who authored a bill defining
marriage as between a man and woman -- and making gay marriages in other
states illegal in Rhode Island -- said Lynch's opinion shows that the
law should be clarified in Rhode Island.
Kate Monteiro, with Rhode Island Alliance for Lesbian and Gay Civil
Rights, was pleased with Lynch's opinion.
"Lynch has said clearly that what we've done for centuries in Rhode
Island will continue - that valid legal marriages performed in other
places are recognized here in Rhode Island," Monteiro said.
Lynch said gay couples traveling to Massachusetts to wed should consider
consulting with a private attorney and take care when answering
application questions.
In most Massachusetts cities and towns, clerks are following
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's directive to issue licenses only to
residents or those who plan to move to Massachusetts.
-- With reports from the Associated Press
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