Mass Same Sex Marriage Court Rules!

javapride · 11-18-2003, 12:41 PM

Massachusetts Court Rules for Same-Sex Marriages
By JENNIFER PETERS, AP

BOSTON (Nov. 18) - Massachusetts' highest court ruled 4-3 Tuesday that the state's ban on same- sex marriage is unconstitutional and gave lawmakers 180 days to come up with a solution that would allow gay couples to wed.

AP
A group celebrates Tuesday's court ruling at a store called Pride and Joy in Northampton, Mass.

The court did not issue marriage licenses to the seven couples who sued and left the details to the Legislature.

''Whether and whom to marry, how to express sexual intimacy, and whether and how to establish a family - these are among the most basic of every individual's liberty and due process rights,'' the majority opinion said. ''And central to personal freedom and security is the assurance that the laws will apply equally to persons in similar situations.''

''Barred access to the protections, benefits and obligations of civil marriage, a person who enters into an intimate, exclusive union with another of the same sex is arbitrarily deprived of membership in one of our community's most rewarding and cherished institutions,'' the opinion said.

Legal observers said the case took a significant step beyond the 1999 Vermont Supreme Court decision that led to civil unions in that state.

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This decision, lawyers said, rules that gay couples are entitled to all the rights of marriage and that creating a separate class of marriage - such as civil unions - would not be acceptable.

Attorney Mary Bonauto, who represented the seven gay couples who sued the state, said the only task assigned to the Legislature is to come up with changes in the law that will allow gay couples to marry at the end of the 180-day period.

''This is a very good day for gay and lesbian families in Massachusetts and throughout the country,'' Bonauto said.

But the issue may find a hostile audience in the Massachusetts Legislature, which has been considering a constitutional amendment that would legally define a marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The state's powerful Speaker of the House, Tom Finneran of Boston, has endorsed this proposal.

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Gay Marriage Ruling Applauded

And Republican Gov. Mitt Romney criticizing the ruling, saying: ''Marriage is an institution between a man and a woman. I will support an amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution that makes that expressly clear. Of course, we must provide basic civil rights and appropriate benefits to nontraditional couples, but marriage is a special institution that should be reserved for a man and a woman.''

A key group of state lawmakers also has recently been working behind the scenes to craft civil union legislation similar to the law passed in Vermont.

Gay and lesbian advocates had been cheered by a series of advances this year, including a U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down anti-sodomy laws, the ordination of an openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, and a Canadian appeals court ruling that it was unconstitutional to deny gay couples the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples. Belgium and the Netherlands also have legalized gay marriage.

In addition to Vermont, courts in Hawaii and Alaska have previously ruled that the states did not have a right to deny marriage to gay couples. In those two states, the decisions were followed by the adoption of constitutional amendments limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. No American court has ordered the issuance of a marriage license - a privilege reserved for heterosexual couples.

The U.S. House is currently considering a constitutional ban on gay marriage. President Bush, although he believes marriage should be defined as a union between one man and one woman, recently said that a constitutional amendment is not yet necessary.

The Massachusetts case began in 2001, when seven gay couples went to their city and town halls to obtain marriage licenses. All were denied, leading them to sue the state Department of Public Health, which administers the state's marriage laws.

More on This Story

· Text of the Opinion

A judge threw out the case in 2002, ruling that nothing in state law gives gay couples the right to marry. The couples appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court.

The plaintiffs argued that barring them from marrying a partner of the same sex denied them access to an intrinsic human experience and violated basic constitutional rights.

The state's Attorney General's office argued that neither state law nor its constitution created a right to same-sex marriage. The state also said any decision to extend marriage to same-sex partners should be made by elected lawmakers, not the courts.

11-18-03 1206EST

ABT TIME! DAYUM! NOW slowly poeple are starting to change the aspect of this and showing that we can deffy be who we wanna be! YAYAYAY!

Fly Free · 11-18-2003, 01:26 PM

yes i read the article this morning as well and was like OMFG WTG!!!!

i strongly believe we should have the same rights as hetrosexual couples in legalizing marriages and actually having a marriage license!

11-18-2003, 01:56 PM

Hurrah, that is good news for gay and lesbian couples. Perhaps this will influence the Supreme Court in New Jersey to also validate gay and lesbian right to marry. As for Utah, I know we will have a long way to go...

DreamDeaf · 11-18-2003, 01:58 PM

YES!!! PAH!!!!

I think Id rather see the US Supreme Court ratify that law - declare the whole thing unconstitutional!

Hoorary for MASS!!!

deafdyke · 11-18-2003, 02:04 PM

Java....I was coming here to post that!!! Well, I'll post the forward I got.
YAHOO!!!!! We can get MARRIED!!!!!!
kinda O/T but I've been to Pride and Joy in NoHo and it's an awesome store. I bought a little rainbow "I love you" window decal..I wish I was out at good ol' WSC right now...I'd head right to NoHo for some celebrating! Very appropreaite that it happened this week...I went to see Ani DiFranco in Boston on Sunday (let's just say the audience was filled with stereotypical lesbians)
SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS!
Please Read, Take Action, and Forward On!
http://EqualMarriage.org/doma.decision.day.php

Equality!!!

This morning, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts declared
that same-sex couples have the right to marry! When this ruling goes
into effect, Massachusetts will become the first state in the U.S. to
allow same-sex couples to legally marry. The ruling was based on the
Commonwealth's Constitution. But the radical right is unwilling to
accept equality for gays and lesbians and is already seeking to amend
the Massachusetts Constitution. Together we will defeat H 3190 --
the anti-gay constitutional amendment. Tonight we will celebrate our
victory in the courts. (Learn more about the details at www.glad.org.)

Now we ask you to do three things:

Join Us For A Public Celebration!
---------------------------------
Join us for a public celebration in support of the historic ruling
in the Massachusetts Marriage case. You will not want to miss this
historic celebratory gathering. Civil rights victories like this
happen once in a lifetime.

6:00 PM, November 18th, 2003
Old South Meeting House (not the Old South Church)
310 Washington Street
(at the corner of School Street across from Borders Books)
Boston, Massachusetts
(Public transportation directions at http://trip.mbta.com .)

GLAD is also hosting a community party that begins at 7:00 PM at
the
Collonnade Hotel on Huntington Street.

There is also a Western Mass Rally in Northampton at 6:00 PM on the
steps of City Hall.

Visit our website later today for more details. We will post info
about other rallies as we find out about them.

Contact Your Legislators
------------------------
Contact your legislators here:
http://EqualMarriage.org/doma.decision.day.php

Tell them you support the court's decision and oppose H 3190,
the anti-gay constitutional amendment.

Make A Contribution
-------------------
Make a contribution to support the work of the Freedom to Marry
Coalition of Massachusetts. We must raise money now to defeat
the anti-gay constitutional amendment. Please dig deep into your
pockets to support equality and preserve this historic court
ruling.
http://EqualMarriage.org/join_now.php

Help us grow our network of advocates who work in support of full
equality!
Please forward this e-mail on to your friends, family and collegues.

SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS!
Please Read, Take Action, and Forward On!
http://EqualMarriage.org/doma.decision.day.php

javapride · 11-18-2003, 02:39 PM

THIS IS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!NOW WE GONNA celebrate it ALL OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Oddball · 11-18-2003, 09:01 PM

Hooray!! Gay couples have rights to marry in the state of Massachusetts. I know it is a long way to go, but I have feelings that it will happen to the nationwide in US within a few years. Winks.

Way to go!!

11-18-2003, 10:18 PM

A court in New Jersey just struck down the lawsuit from gay and lesbian couples asking for the right to marry, but it will allow them to go to a higher level. Hopefully it will turn out as same as Massachusetts.

http://www.floydreport.com/view_article.php?lid=1895

N.J. court bars gay marriage
By Lyle Denniston, Globe Correspondent, 11/6/2003

WASHINGTON -- A state judge in New Jersey ruled yesterday that same-sex couples do not have a right under the state's constitution to marry -- the second state court to make that decision since a gay rights decision by the US Supreme Court last June put new emphasis on the issue.

Superior Court Judge Linda R. Feinberg of Trenton said homosexual couples do not have "the right to enter into a government-sanctioned marriage," either under state marriage law or the state constitution's protections for privacy and for legal equality.

The right of privacy "includes only the union of persons of different genders," the judge said. "Thus, a prohibition on same-sex marriage is not so much a limitation on the right to marry, but a defining element of that right accepted for generations as an essential characteristic of marriage."

"The framers of the New Jersey Constitution of 1947 could not possibly have fathomed same-sex marriage at all, let alone as a fundamental right cloaked in constitutional protection," Feinberg wrote in a 71-page opinion.

Lambda Legal, the gay rights advocacy group that filed the New Jersey challenge for seven homosexual couples who want to get married, said the ruling was unsurprising. "More than anything, this ruling propels us forward to higher courts, where both sides have always known it will be decided," said one of its attorneys, David Buckel. The group said it would appeal to higher state courts in the next several weeks.

The ruling reached the same result as a recent decision by a state Appeals Court in Arizona, finding no right for gays to marry under either the US Constitution or the Arizona Constitution. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is now weighing a case brought by gay couples under the state constitution.

Although the New Jersey ruling yesterday was based solely on the state constitution, the judge also said that the state document gets its meaning of privacy rights mainly from the US Constitution, and noted that the federal document has never been interpreted to protect homosexual marriage.

Fly Free · 11-19-2003, 11:07 AM

in due time the gay couples will have every rights equal to those hetrosexual couples for marriage rights and etc -- just keep fighting!!!!! we have come a LONGGGG way since 1969 and i dont think we would be pushed back -- we ARE gaining more rights and support from the general public regardless of the person's sexual orientation and more awareness

javapride · 11-19-2003, 12:07 PM

we're bound to have the ups and downs on the fights to give us the rights! BUT Hey we got one landmark now we re still going for the 50 landmarks of the rights to marry and NOT ONLY THAT having that right gives us the sense of freedom!

Irish Devil Dog · 12-09-2003, 03:28 AM

I'm glad to hear that Mass is allow same sex marriage.. Now I'd able to marry in the state where I birth in

Nicole · 02-17-2005, 11:06 AM

I think that same sex couples should be able to get married because they are human beings and should be treated with the same respect and decency as heterosexuals. It should not matter whether a couple is of the same sex or not, they should be able to get married whenever and however they want to.

11-18-2003, 12:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
javapride Java's Big Island Life! Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: hawaii Posts: 6,509	Mass Same Sex Marriage Court Rules! Massachusetts Court Rules for Same-Sex Marriages By JENNIFER PETERS, AP BOSTON (Nov. 18) - Massachusetts' highest court ruled 4-3 Tuesday that the state's ban on same- sex marriage is unconstitutional and gave lawmakers 180 days to come up with a solution that would allow gay couples to wed. AP A group celebrates Tuesday's court ruling at a store called Pride and Joy in Northampton, Mass. The court did not issue marriage licenses to the seven couples who sued and left the details to the Legislature. ''Whether and whom to marry, how to express sexual intimacy, and whether and how to establish a family - these are among the most basic of every individual's liberty and due process rights,'' the majority opinion said. ''And central to personal freedom and security is the assurance that the laws will apply equally to persons in similar situations.'' ''Barred access to the protections, benefits and obligations of civil marriage, a person who enters into an intimate, exclusive union with another of the same sex is arbitrarily deprived of membership in one of our community's most rewarding and cherished institutions,'' the opinion said. Legal observers said the case took a significant step beyond the 1999 Vermont Supreme Court decision that led to civil unions in that state. Talk About It · Chat \| Post a Message This decision, lawyers said, rules that gay couples are entitled to all the rights of marriage and that creating a separate class of marriage - such as civil unions - would not be acceptable. Attorney Mary Bonauto, who represented the seven gay couples who sued the state, said the only task assigned to the Legislature is to come up with changes in the law that will allow gay couples to marry at the end of the 180-day period. ''This is a very good day for gay and lesbian families in Massachusetts and throughout the country,'' Bonauto said. But the issue may find a hostile audience in the Massachusetts Legislature, which has been considering a constitutional amendment that would legally define a marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The state's powerful Speaker of the House, Tom Finneran of Boston, has endorsed this proposal. Watch Video Broadband Only Gay Marriage Ruling Applauded And Republican Gov. Mitt Romney criticizing the ruling, saying: ''Marriage is an institution between a man and a woman. I will support an amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution that makes that expressly clear. Of course, we must provide basic civil rights and appropriate benefits to nontraditional couples, but marriage is a special institution that should be reserved for a man and a woman.'' A key group of state lawmakers also has recently been working behind the scenes to craft civil union legislation similar to the law passed in Vermont. Gay and lesbian advocates had been cheered by a series of advances this year, including a U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down anti-sodomy laws, the ordination of an openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, and a Canadian appeals court ruling that it was unconstitutional to deny gay couples the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples. Belgium and the Netherlands also have legalized gay marriage. In addition to Vermont, courts in Hawaii and Alaska have previously ruled that the states did not have a right to deny marriage to gay couples. In those two states, the decisions were followed by the adoption of constitutional amendments limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. No American court has ordered the issuance of a marriage license - a privilege reserved for heterosexual couples. The U.S. House is currently considering a constitutional ban on gay marriage. President Bush, although he believes marriage should be defined as a union between one man and one woman, recently said that a constitutional amendment is not yet necessary. The Massachusetts case began in 2001, when seven gay couples went to their city and town halls to obtain marriage licenses. All were denied, leading them to sue the state Department of Public Health, which administers the state's marriage laws. More on This Story · Text of the Opinion A judge threw out the case in 2002, ruling that nothing in state law gives gay couples the right to marry. The couples appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court. The plaintiffs argued that barring them from marrying a partner of the same sex denied them access to an intrinsic human experience and violated basic constitutional rights. The state's Attorney General's office argued that neither state law nor its constitution created a right to same-sex marriage. The state also said any decision to extend marriage to same-sex partners should be made by elected lawmakers, not the courts. 11-18-03 1206EST ABT TIME! DAYUM! NOW slowly poeple are starting to change the aspect of this and showing that we can deffy be who we wanna be! YAYAYAY!

02-17-2005, 11:06 AM	#12 (permalink)
Nicole Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 1	the court system sucks! I think that same sex couples should be able to get married because they are human beings and should be treated with the same respect and decency as heterosexuals. It should not matter whether a couple is of the same sex or not, they should be able to get married whenever and however they want to.

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11-18-2003, 01:26 PM	#2 (permalink)
Fly Free Just me Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Wherever i want to be LOL Posts: 9,100	yes i read the article this morning as well and was like OMFG WTG!!!! i strongly believe we should have the same rights as hetrosexual couples in legalizing marriages and actually having a marriage license!

11-18-2003, 01:56 PM	#3 (permalink)
kuifje75 Guest Posts: n/a	Hurrah, that is good news for gay and lesbian couples. Perhaps this will influence the Supreme Court in New Jersey to also validate gay and lesbian right to marry. As for Utah, I know we will have a long way to go...

11-18-2003, 01:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
DreamDeaf Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: In a messy studio Posts: 4,562	YES!!! PAH!!!! I think Id rather see the US Supreme Court ratify that law - declare the whole thing unconstitutional! Hoorary for MASS!!!

11-18-2003, 02:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
deafdyke So NOT a Princess! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Trebekistan Posts: 6,438	Java....I was coming here to post that!!! Well, I'll post the forward I got. YAHOO!!!!! We can get MARRIED!!!!!! kinda O/T but I've been to Pride and Joy in NoHo and it's an awesome store. I bought a little rainbow "I love you" window decal..I wish I was out at good ol' WSC right now...I'd head right to NoHo for some celebrating! Very appropreaite that it happened this week...I went to see Ani DiFranco in Boston on Sunday (let's just say the audience was filled with stereotypical lesbians) SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS! Please Read, Take Action, and Forward On! http://EqualMarriage.org/doma.decision.day.php Equality!!! This morning, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts declared that same-sex couples have the right to marry! When this ruling goes into effect, Massachusetts will become the first state in the U.S. to allow same-sex couples to legally marry. The ruling was based on the Commonwealth's Constitution. But the radical right is unwilling to accept equality for gays and lesbians and is already seeking to amend the Massachusetts Constitution. Together we will defeat H 3190 -- the anti-gay constitutional amendment. Tonight we will celebrate our victory in the courts. (Learn more about the details at www.glad.org.) Now we ask you to do three things: Join Us For A Public Celebration! --------------------------------- Join us for a public celebration in support of the historic ruling in the Massachusetts Marriage case. You will not want to miss this historic celebratory gathering. Civil rights victories like this happen once in a lifetime. 6:00 PM, November 18th, 2003 Old South Meeting House (not the Old South Church) 310 Washington Street (at the corner of School Street across from Borders Books) Boston, Massachusetts (Public transportation directions at http://trip.mbta.com .) GLAD is also hosting a community party that begins at 7:00 PM at the Collonnade Hotel on Huntington Street. There is also a Western Mass Rally in Northampton at 6:00 PM on the steps of City Hall. Visit our website later today for more details. We will post info about other rallies as we find out about them. Contact Your Legislators ------------------------ Contact your legislators here: http://EqualMarriage.org/doma.decision.day.php Tell them you support the court's decision and oppose H 3190, the anti-gay constitutional amendment. Make A Contribution ------------------- Make a contribution to support the work of the Freedom to Marry Coalition of Massachusetts. We must raise money now to defeat the anti-gay constitutional amendment. Please dig deep into your pockets to support equality and preserve this historic court ruling. http://EqualMarriage.org/join_now.php Help us grow our network of advocates who work in support of full equality! Please forward this e-mail on to your friends, family and collegues. SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS! Please Read, Take Action, and Forward On! http://EqualMarriage.org/doma.decision.day.php

11-18-2003, 02:39 PM	#6 (permalink)
javapride Java's Big Island Life! Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: hawaii Posts: 6,509	THIS IS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!NOW WE GONNA celebrate it ALL OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

11-18-2003, 09:01 PM	#7 (permalink)
Oddball Wacky Oddball Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Moon Posts: 3,132	Hooray!! Gay couples have rights to marry in the state of Massachusetts. I know it is a long way to go, but I have feelings that it will happen to the nationwide in US within a few years. Winks. Way to go!!

11-18-2003, 10:18 PM	#8 (permalink)
kuifje75 Guest Posts: n/a	A court in New Jersey just struck down the lawsuit from gay and lesbian couples asking for the right to marry, but it will allow them to go to a higher level. Hopefully it will turn out as same as Massachusetts. http://www.floydreport.com/view_article.php?lid=1895 N.J. court bars gay marriage By Lyle Denniston, Globe Correspondent, 11/6/2003 WASHINGTON -- A state judge in New Jersey ruled yesterday that same-sex couples do not have a right under the state's constitution to marry -- the second state court to make that decision since a gay rights decision by the US Supreme Court last June put new emphasis on the issue. Superior Court Judge Linda R. Feinberg of Trenton said homosexual couples do not have "the right to enter into a government-sanctioned marriage," either under state marriage law or the state constitution's protections for privacy and for legal equality. The right of privacy "includes only the union of persons of different genders," the judge said. "Thus, a prohibition on same-sex marriage is not so much a limitation on the right to marry, but a defining element of that right accepted for generations as an essential characteristic of marriage." "The framers of the New Jersey Constitution of 1947 could not possibly have fathomed same-sex marriage at all, let alone as a fundamental right cloaked in constitutional protection," Feinberg wrote in a 71-page opinion. Lambda Legal, the gay rights advocacy group that filed the New Jersey challenge for seven homosexual couples who want to get married, said the ruling was unsurprising. "More than anything, this ruling propels us forward to higher courts, where both sides have always known it will be decided," said one of its attorneys, David Buckel. The group said it would appeal to higher state courts in the next several weeks. The ruling reached the same result as a recent decision by a state Appeals Court in Arizona, finding no right for gays to marry under either the US Constitution or the Arizona Constitution. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is now weighing a case brought by gay couples under the state constitution. Although the New Jersey ruling yesterday was based solely on the state constitution, the judge also said that the state document gets its meaning of privacy rights mainly from the US Constitution, and noted that the federal document has never been interpreted to protect homosexual marriage.

11-19-2003, 11:07 AM	#9 (permalink)
Fly Free Just me Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Wherever i want to be LOL Posts: 9,100	in due time the gay couples will have every rights equal to those hetrosexual couples for marriage rights and etc -- just keep fighting!!!!! we have come a LONGGGG way since 1969 and i dont think we would be pushed back -- we ARE gaining more rights and support from the general public regardless of the person's sexual orientation and more awareness

11-19-2003, 12:07 PM	#10 (permalink)
javapride Java's Big Island Life! Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: hawaii Posts: 6,509	we're bound to have the ups and downs on the fights to give us the rights! BUT Hey we got one landmark now we re still going for the 50 landmarks of the rights to marry and NOT ONLY THAT having that right gives us the sense of freedom!

12-09-2003, 03:28 AM	#11 (permalink)
Irish Devil Dog ~Taken by my mystery hun~ Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Florida Posts: 1,464	I'm glad to hear that Mass is allow same sex marriage.. Now I'd able to marry in the state where I birth in