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Massachusetts and Same-Sex Marriages: An Update
As reported on these pages late last year, on Nov. 18, 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, holding, in a 4-3 decision, that the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts violated the state's constitution. The case was brought by seven gay and lesbian couples, four of whom have children, and all of whom have been in committed relationships that range from 4 to 30 years in duration. When the Department of Public Health refused to issue marriage licenses to them, the seven couples filed suit, claiming that the Commonwealth's denial of marriage licenses violated Massachusetts law.
The Good News
The high court's ruling that the ban on same-sex marriage violates the Massachusetts Constitution is the good news for members of the gay and lesbian community and advocates of the legalization of same-sex marriage. The decision, written by Chief Justice Marshall, acknowledges both the legal and emotional significance of marriage and states that denying this right to same-sex couples offends the Massachusetts Constitution's guarantee of equality before the law: “Without the right to marry ' or more properly, the right to choose to marry ' one is excluded from the full range of human experience and denied full protection of the laws for one's avowed commitment to an intimate and lasting human relationship.” Most significantly, however, the Supreme Judicial Court directs the Massachusetts legislature to “take such action as it may deem appropriate in light of this opinion” during the next 180 days. The Supreme Judicial Court is the Commonwealth's ultimate authority on constitutional issues and as such, the Legislature cannot pass a law contrary to the court's decision. The Legislature, however, is not left powerless, and the fight for same-sex marriage in the Commonwealth is far from over.
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