| Same-sex Marriage In Massachusetts |
Article Index for Same-sex Marriage |
Website Links For Marriage |
Information AboutSame-sex Marriage In Massachusetts |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN MASSACHUSETTS | |
| same-sex marriage in the united states | |
| massachusetts | |
| massachusetts law | |
|
Same-sex Marriage in the U.S. State of ''' Massachusetts ''' became legal on May 17 , 2004 . It is the first and only state to make same-sex marriages legal. The first applications for , they were permitted to fill out their ''Notices of Intent to Marry''. The first to file were Marcia Hams and Susan Shepherd . Other cities and towns in Massachusetts began issuing applications later in the morning, during business hours. Massachusetts normally has a three-day waiting period before issuing marriage licenses, but many couples obtained waivers of the waiting period in order to be wed on May 17 . Among these were the seven couples who were party to the lawsuit that led to the legalization of same-sex marriage, including Julie Goodridge and Hillary Goodridge , who were the first to apply for a license in Boston and whose eight-year old daughter Annie was their ringbearer and flower girl at their wedding at the Unitarian Universalist Association of Boston. The parties to '' Goodridge V. Department Of Public Health '' were Gloria Bailey and Linda Davies; Maureen Brodoff and Ellen Wade; Hillary Goodridge and Julie Goodridge; Gary Chalmers and Richard Linnell; Heidi Norton and Gina Smith; Michael Horgan and David Balmelli; and David Wilson and Robert Compton. Cambridge took in 227 applications overnight; Provincetown took in 113; more than 1,000 applications were made on the first day statewide. Two-thirds of applicants were women, and one-half of the applicants had been partners for more than a decade. Forty percent of the female couples had children in their homes. Governor Mitt Romney launched the "superslate" campaign in 2004, based on the idea that the state Republican Party could use same-sex marriage as a Wedge Issue and gain seats, spending millions of his own dollars and personally campaigning for Republican candidates in traditionally Democratic seats. Despite his efforts, the Republican party nonetheless lost seats in the 2004 election. Since then, many legislators have changed their views to reflect growing support for gay marriage among their constituents. One of the original sponsors of the amendment to ban gay marriage and legalize civil unions, Brian Lees , said, "Gay marriage has begun, and life has not changed for the citizens of the commonwealth, with the exception of those who can now marry." {Link without Title} The future of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts is somewhat uncertain, as there is currently an effort to amend the state constitution in order to forbid it. In order to amend the state constitution, it is necessary for an amendment first to pass two state constitutional conventions (a joint session of the state general court (house of representatives and senate), before going before the voters in a referendum. An amendment that would forbid same-sex marriage, establish civil unions for same-sex couples conveying the same rights and responsibilites as marriage, and as convert existing same-sex marriages into civil unions passed the first constitutional convention but was defeated in the second. Many moderate legislators who had initally voted for the amendment abandoned it, and most legislators on the right elected to throw their support behind a new Ballot Initiative to ban both same-sex marriage and civil unions. This measure cannot legally appear on the ballot until at least 2008 . {Link without Title} TIMELINE
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|