Clerks sued for illegal licenses

Two Massachusetts citizens have filed a civil lawsuit against three town clerks for issuing illegal marriage licenses to same-sex couples who have no intention of residing in the state.

The Alliance Defense Fund, representing the citizens, says the state law is clear.

"Marriage licenses cannot be legally issued to out-of-state residents who have no intention of residing in the commonwealth," said Glen Lavy, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund.

As Massachusetts became the first state in the country to authorize same-sex marriage, May 17, officials in cities such as Provincetown, a resort area that attracts many homosexuals, said they would not abide by Gov. Mitt Romney's order to have applicants show proof of in-state residency or intention to live in the state.

Lavy said the town clerks have "taken the law into their own hands."

"If elected officials aren’t required to be law keepers, society has opened Pandora's Box to chaos and lawlessness," he said.

ADF filed the suit in coordination with Salem, Mass., attorney Philip D. Moran and David R. Langdon of the Law Liberty Institute.

The complaint, filed in the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County, asks the court to declare Massachusetts law is clear that a town clerk has a definitive legal duty to determine where each applicant resides and to ascertain if out-of-state applicants intend to continue to reside outside Massachusetts.

The clerk must refuse licenses to couples that do not intend to reside in Massachusetts, the complaint asserts.

Plaintiffs are Raymond L. Flynn, former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican and mayor of Boston from 1984 to 1993, and Thomas A. Shields, a Boston businessman. Defendants are clerks Douglas Johnstone of Provincetown, John J. Long of Somerville and David J. Rushford of Worcester.

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