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Four UU-connected couples join in seeking legal marriage from state's highest court
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| (left to right) Julie and Hillary Goodridge, lead complainants in the Freedom to Marry case before heard in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on March 4, listen with other complainants as arguments are delivered. (Globe pool photo) |
(Boston, MA - March 5, 2003) Nearly two years ago, seven same-sex couples, four of whom have Unitarian Universalist connections, filed suit in Suffolk (MA) Superior Court, to gain the most important and basic right of heterosexual couples: the right to legally marry. The suit, filed on April 11, 2001 ("Goodridge vs. Dept. of Public Health"), asserted that the couples had all been denied marriage licenses at their municipal town halls, and sought the legal recognition "that same-sex couples — whose relationships are as loving and as committed as those of heterosexual couples — have an equal right to civil marriage."
Bringing the suit are Hillary and Julie Goodridge of Boston, together for 15 years and raising a 7-year-old daughter; Maureen Brodoff and Ellen Wade of Newton, together for 21 years and parents of a 13-year-old daughter; Gloria Bailey and Linda Davies of Orleans, a couple for 31 years; Richard Linnell and Gary Chalmers of Northbridge, together for 14 years and parents of a 10-year-old daughter; Heidi Norton and Gina Smith of Northampton, together for 12 years and parents of sons ages 6 and 2; Robert Compton and David Wilson of Boston, together for 6 years, who are also parents and grandparents; and Michael Horgan and Ed Balmelli of Boston who have been together for 8 years. (See the profiles of these couples on the GLAD website for information about them and their UU connections).
According to Mary Bonauto, GLAD's (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders) Civil Rights Director, who argued the case, the 2000 Census found more than 17,000 families in Massachusetts living in same-sex households.
Of the case before the court, Bonauto said, "These couples, like thousands of others in every community throughout the state, are bound by a profound love and commitment. Even though they have the same needs and concerns as other families, they shoulder added burdens simply because they cannot marry.
"It has always been the role of the courts in our system of government," she said, "to say when a law draws the wrong line. This is the wrong line. Only 'marriage' conveys the love and commitment that others automatically understand and respect. Only 'marriage' provides a legal safety net protecting the couples' emotional bonds and their economic security."
The court asked numerous questions of GLAD's attorney, including why the court and not the legislature should address this matter, whether there wouldn't be a constitutional amendment to overturn any pro-marriage decision, and why the court should do something no other state has done, among others. The state's counsel, Assistant Attorney General Judith Yogman, was also barraged with questions, including why marriage should exclude same sex couples, how civil unions are different than marriage, and why the state would let same-sex couples adopt children but not get married.
In the United States, Vermont has come closest to allowing same sex marriage, after a 1999 ruling by the Vermont Supreme Court found that the state constitution guarantees gay and lesbian couples the same benefits and protections given to heterosexual couples. The state's Legislature, faced with a choice of allowing gay marriage or a similar domestic partnership, created civil unions that bring many of the same benefits of marriage but aren't recognized beyond that state. The action was strongly supported by Unitarian Universalist congregations of Vermont.
When the Massachusetts suit was filed, it was widely covered on uua.org and in the media. A decision in this case is expected this summer.
Resources:
Media Coverage:
- Washington Times, March 3, 2003 - "Court
to Hear Suit on Gay Unions" by Cheryl Wetzstein,
- WHDH.com, March 4, 2003 (AP) - "State's
Highest Court Hears Arguments in Gay Marriage Case,"
- WCVB.com, March 4, 2003 - "State's
High Court Debates Gay Marriage,"
- WBUR's "Here and Now"- March 4, 2003 ("Gay
Marriage and Adoption"),
- Boston Globe - March 5, 2003 - ("SJC
Peppers Lawyers on Same-Sex Marriage" by Kathleen Burge")
- United Press International - March 4, 2003 - ("Mass.
High Court Mulls Same-Sex Marriage" by David D. Haskell)
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