BOSTON (AP) — The governor has demanded copies of all marriage applications issued by the four municipalities that openly defied his policy on same-sex licenses, a move that could signal another legal tussle.

City and town clerks in Provincetown, Worcester, Springfield and Somerville were ordered to hand over the documents Tuesday, a day after each issued marriage licenses to out-of-state residents.

Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican opposed to same-sex marriage, had instructed Massachusetts town clerks to deny marriage licenses to all nonresident couples who have no plans to move to Massachusetts.

Romney spokeswoman Shawn Feddeman would not confirm that the administration had demanded the documents, but said "any marriages performed outside of the law are null and void under Massachusetts statutes."

Story continues

advertisement

Officials in Somerville, Springfield, Provincetown and Worcester said they were complying with the administration's request and would be sending the documents immediately to the Registry of Vital Statistics.

"This is an unprecedented request in my 25 years of service," said Worcester City Clerk David Rushford, who issued applications to 12 out-of-state couples. "But I'm confident that I'm acting within the law."

Romney has previously said he would declare the out-of-state licenses null and void and threatened legal action against the clerks who issue them. The Republican governor has made no public comments since legal gay marriages began.

At least one clerk feared the implications of Romney's latest order.

"They've singled out only the select few that announced a policy contrary to the governor's interpretation," Provincetown Town Manager Keith Bergman said. "This is the first step toward something, that's for sure."

The governor recently warned clerks to adhere to a 1913 state law that prohibits nonresidents from getting married in Massachusetts if their union would not be legal in their home state.

Since no other state recognizes gay marriages, Romney said out-of-state gay couples who have no intention of moving to Massachusetts could not obtain marriage licenses.

But clerks in Provincetown, Worcester, Springfield and Somerville said publicly that they would issue licenses to all comers, regardless of where they lived, as long as they signed a form attesting that there was no known legal impediment to their union.

Many of the nonresident couples who came to get their marriage documents returned home Tuesday to inevitable legal battles in their own states. Those who have no intention of moving here face the possibility that their state governments will refuse to recognize their union, and Massachusetts itself could nullify their license, as Romney has promised.

Gay rights advocates in neighboring New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island -- home to many of the gay couples who married in Massachusetts on Monday -- said they hope legal action is not necessary, but acknowledged it may be inevitable.

"It's America in 2004. I think legal action is guaranteed," said Kevin Cathcart, executive director of the gay-rights group Lambda Legal. "It's going to take the legal system and the political system quite some time to work this all out."