Massachusetts

On November 18, 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that there is no rational basis under the law to deny a marriage license to same-sex couples. On May 17, 2004, marriage licenses began to be issued to same-sex couples in Massachusetts. In June 2007, the Massachusetts Legislature defeated the discriminatory, anti-gay, anti-marriage Constitutional amendment. The final 151 to 45 vote was a strong legislative victory for marriage equality.

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WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE:

MassEquality
MassEquality is a coalition of local and national organizations defending equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in Massachusetts.

Freedom To Marry Coalition of Massachusetts
Since 1993, The Freedom To Marry Coalition of Massachusetts has been engaged in grassroots education, advocacy, and lobbying in support of civil marriage rights for same-sex couples.

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is New England's leading legal rights organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression.

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LEGISLATIVE STATUS IN MASSACHUSETTS:

Your Community—Massachusetts
Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
HRC presents resources, news, and the current marriage and relationship recognition laws in each state.

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THE NUMBERS: POLLING & STATISTICS:

A majority (56%) of Massachusetts voters favor marriage equality. [Boston Globe Poll, March 2005]

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PUBLICATIONS:

Geographic Trends Among Same-Sex Couples in the U.S. Census and the American Community Survey
Williams Institute
November 2007
Gary Gates at the Williams Institute released groundbreaking research on the geographic trends among same-sex couples. The report finds the biggest increases in Southern and Mountain states and states barring legal acceptance of same-sex couples had larger percentage increases in same-sex couples from 2000 to 2006.

How to Get Married in Massachusetts
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders
Learn the basics about how to get married in Massachusetts.

Legal protections, benefits & obligations of marriage under Massachusetts and federal law
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders
June 21, 2001
A substantive listing of key Massachusetts and federal laws that accord certain protections, benefits and obligations for married couples. Topics include: property ownership, medical leave, tax rules, child custody, and worker compensation.

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NEWS:

MA Man Can't Get Passport Under Married Name
The Sun Chronicle
March 21, 2008
The U.S. State Department denied a passport to an international AIDS counselor using his new married name because the department refuses to recognize his marriage to a man in Massachusetts.

Marriage Equality Attracting Skilled Workers To MA
365Gay.com
March 3, 2008
Massachusetts is reaping huge financial gains as a result of ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage.

Marriage equality good for business in New England
The Washington Post
September 16, 2007
Since the freedom to marry came to Massachusetts in 2004, attendance at Boston's annual Gay Pride Day, a major attraction for visitors, has more than doubled, according to the Massachusetts tourism bureau. Last June, attendance exceeded 100,000, compared with 40,000 three years ago. Although Vermont tourism officials don't tally visitors according to sexual orientation, several innkeepers report a strong rise in their gay clientele since civil unions were legalized in 2000.

Rep. Christine Canavan on the MA marriage vote
EDGE Boston
June 28, 2007
In an interview with Bay Windows on June 20 Canavan, who serves as Second Division Chair in the House, spoke for the first time since last week's ConCon about how, after three years of voting the way she believed the majority of her district wanted her to, she decided to follow her conscience.

OPINION: Marriage equality digs roots, gains momentum
The Detroit News
June 25, 2007
An elderly Massachusetts woman felt her opposition to gay marriage melt away after "this lovely couple" moved in next door with their children. "If they can't be married in Massachusetts, they're going to leave — and then who would help me with my lawn?" she asked, urging her state lawmaker to also change and protect gay couples' right to marry by blocking a referendum designed to abolish that right. That lawmaker did change.

OPINION: Republicans play key role in wins
Washington Blade
June 22, 2007
Thanks to Rep. Ross and all the others who voted against the constitutional amendment, we can celebrate a bi-partisan victory in Massachusetts — and it is a huge victory. Families in the Bay State are stronger, more secure and better because the freedom to marry will go on. Civil marriage equality is here to stay in Massachusetts, planting an anchor for other states to make similar progress.

EDITORIAL: Equality itself
Times Argus
June 21, 2007
In Massachusetts, as in Vermont, supporters of marriage equality gained ground when they put a human face on their cause. Gay and lesbian residents told stories about the relationships that mattered to them, about family, loyalty, commitment. When confronted with the human reality of gay relationships, it happens again and again that fear recedes.

Waves of change swept away bid against gay people's marriages
The Boston Globe
June 17, 2007
Over the years, one legislator after another moved into the pro-marriage equality camp, or at least into the anti-amendment one. Some did so after immense personal struggles over the issue; some after they discovered that switching sides had few electoral costs. In 2004, the year of the most impassioned debate over gay and lesbian marriages, all of the lawmakers who switched their positions to oppose the ban were reelected, even though supporters of the amendment had warned them of bruising battles and certain defeat.

OPINION: Tyranny by ballot
The Boston Globe
June 16, 2007
When the Massachusetts Legislature voted this week, it acted upon the knowledge that for too long, gay and lesbian people — like people of color, women, and the physically challenged before them — were penalized by the details of life, enslaved mentally and physically to the will of the majority... This was a moment the Legislature had to be the guardian angel. It acted in the spirit of Federalist No. 51: "A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions."

Personal stories changed minds
The Boston Globe
June 15, 2007
The urgency, and power, of telling your stories, supporting public education efforts, and talking about why marriage matters: Representative Richard J. Ross, a Republican from Wrentham, had a revelation Wednesday afternoon after meeting with a gay Republican who presented him with this challenge: As director of his family's funeral home, Ross had surely treated every family the same, no matter what their race, religion, or sexual orientation. So why would he do anything else in his other job, as a lawmaker?

One lawmaker, in her own words, who changed her vote in MA
The Boston Globe
June 14, 2007
"For me, what all this comes down to is this: Same gendered couples are taxpaying, law-abiding citizens, who are important community contributors, well-loved and well-respected by their families, friends, neighbors and employers. They deserve and are entitled to the same legal protections enjoyed by all others citizens of our state."

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MULTIMEDIA:

VIDEO: Gay and lesbian marriages stay legal in Bay State
The Boston Channel
June 14, 2007
Watch lawmakers vote Thursday to keep a constitutional amendment that bans gay marriages off the 2008 ballot during a joint session of the Massachusetts House and Senate.

It's Wrong to Vote on Rights
MassEquality
May 17, 2007
On May 17th, 2007, MassEquality launched a massive multi-media campaign to get the message out that it's wrong to put the rights of same-sex couples up for a vote.

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