Massachusetts marriage ruling opens door for lesbian wedding cruise in July

Boston, Mass., Dec 17, 2003 / 22:00 pm

While family groups are trying to find ways to overturn the landmark Massachusetts high-court decision allowing same-sex marriage, a lesbian-themed travel company plans to take advantage of it by organizing a wedding cruise for as many as 1,200 lesbian women, reported WorldNetDaily.com yesterday.

The company, Olivia, said the ruling allows them to start the cruise with a legal wedding in Boston July 3. The cruise will sail from Boston to Provincetown to Montreal, Canada, and will include performances by openly homosexual singer k.d. lang. The cruise, which can cost between $1,100 and $5,600 per person, depending on accommodations, is already two-thirds booked.

The July 3 ceremony will take place three weeks before Boston hosts the Democratic National Convention, and 48 days after the court's decision is scheduled to take effect.

Opponents of same-sex marriage, however, call Olivia’s plans premature, especially since they are working on ways for legislators to detour the court’s decision.

Ronald A. Crews, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, along with other family-advocate groups, has been urging state legislators to figure out a way to detour the state Supreme Court ruling, reported WorldNetDaily.com.

Some lawmakers have proposed Vermont-style "civil unions," offering many of the rights and responsibilities of marriage without using the term, but the institute rejects that plan.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided, Nov. 18, that homosexual couples are legally entitled to wed under the state constitution and should be allowed to apply for marriage licenses.

However, the 4-3 ruling stopped short of declaring homosexual couples should be granted the licenses, and does not call for them to be immediately issued to the plaintiffs in the case. Instead, the court ordered the state legislature to come up with a solution within 180 days.