MANCHESTER – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney says his successor's decision to recognize the Bay State marriages of out-of-state gay couples reinforces a need for a federal constitutional amendment establishing marriage as being between a man and a woman.

"As the governor of Massachusetts having seen the advent of same-sex marriage in my state, and recognizing that with the new governor, people are going to be coming to Massachusetts, getting married in Massachusetts and then going home to their home states, it strikes me that you have to have a national standard," the Republican Presidential candidate said yesterday.

Romney reacted to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's move ordering state public health officials to record the marriages of 26 out-of-state gay couples whose unions Romney had blocked under the provisions of a 1913 state law.

Romney had acted after Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court recognized gay marriages in 2003. The same court then ruled last year that Romney could use the 94-year-old law to prohibit out-of-state couples from marrying in Massachusetts if their home states explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage.

The 26 couples were married in 2004 in four communities that ignored Romney's order to refuse marriage licenses to out-of-state gay couples.

Romney, in an interview at his campaign's downtown Manchester headquarters, said Patrick acted "in contravention of the law.

"They're going to put aside the 1913 law and go ahead and recognize their marriages, anyway," Romney said. He predicted the action will lead to a lawsuit by a gay couple arguing that their marriage is valid in their home state, "and that's going to go to the (U.S.) Supreme Court.

"At that stage, the Supreme Court could say it's not valid, it's null and void," Romney said. "But to me the most sure way to preserve the traditional marriage is by having a federal amendment."

Romney said, "Marriage is not an activity that goes on within the border of a state. It is a status, a marital status, and therefore, somebody who becomes married and moves to Ohio will be seen in the eyes of many as being married."

Romney yesterday also praised his campaign's ability to raise $23 million in the first three months of 2007, far outpacing fellow Republican front-runners Rudolph Giuliani and John McCain.

"I was very heartened that people who heard my message decided to support my candidacy," he said. He said he received contributions from all 50 states.

Romney's campaign today will spend some of that money by beginning to air a new television advertisement in New Hampshire and first-caucus state Iowa. State campaign consultant Rich Killion said the ad will "reinforce the experience the governor has as a fiscal conservative who can transform Washington."

The 30-second spot has Romney promising to "cap non-defense discretionary spending at inflation minus 1 percent." He says it would save $300 billion in 10 years, "and if Congress sends me a budget that exceeds that cap, I will veto that budget."

He says in the ad, "I like vetoes," and adds, "And frankly I can't wait to get my hands on Washington."

Romney said yesterday that as the governor of a state with a Legislature that was 85 percent Democratic, "I was able to keep them from raising taxes, in some cases we were able to lower taxes. We did that several times, and working with a Legislature is a unique skill."

He said that during his term, he increased state police and crime lab personnel while cutting the overall state government workforce. He said he raised specific fees by $260 million during his first year in office, but made an investment tax credit permanent and "turned a $250 million capital gains tax hike into a $250 million capital gains tax refund," and established "sales tax holidays."

He said he now has a full entitlement reform plan, supports making the Bush tax cuts permanent and wants to allow the middle-class receive capital gains interest and dividends tax-free.

Romney also supported the President's promise to veto an Iraq funding bill that sets up a timetable for the withdrawal of combat troops. He said he supports the Patriot Act because while he backs civil rights, "the number-one right that the government must protect is the right to be alive."