MASSACHUSETTS SSM LICENSE DELUGE SLOWS TO TRICKLE: From the Lowell Sun

After an initial wave of same-sex applications since gay marriage became legal in Massachusetts three weeks ago, the number has slowed to a trickle, area clerks say.

According to a survey of 20 clerks offices in Greater Lowell, 53 percent of all license applications since May 17 have been filed by gay couples. But an overwhelming majority of those same-sex applications were done in the first week gays were allowed to marry.

In Ayer, the town clerk has handled six marriage applications since May 17, and five of them were from gay couples in that first week. In Bedford, all three same-sex couples who requested licenses applied in the first few days. ...

After the first week, however, the stream of gay couples seeking licenses has slowed considerably. Lowell City Clerk Richard Johnson said as many as 25 of the 30 applications from same-sex couples came in the first week. In Burlington, six of the nine applications from same-sex couples came on the first day.

In some communities such as Carlisle and Townsend every marriage application filed since May 17 has been for a gay couple. In some cases, nearly all have been for same-sex couples, as in Concord, where 15 of 19 applications were for homosexual couples.

In other communities, the ratio has been far lower. In Tyngsboro, three of 13 licenses were for gay couples. In Billerica, four of 14 were for gays. Chelmsford officials would not provide a breakdown between same-sex and heterosexual applications. ...

More than half of the marriage license applications filed in the Lowell area since May 17 has been for a gay couple, according to local town clerks. Below is a list of local communities, how many same-sex couples have applied for a licence, and how many total marriage licenses have been applied for since gay marriage became legal in the state on May 17. Chelmsford officials refuse to discern between heterosexual and homosexual license applications.

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posted by Eve at 7:49 PM | link

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