SAME SEX MARRIAGE IN
MASSACHUSETTS
How it all
Started
GOODRIDGE V. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
 March 4, 2003November 18, 2003
 Gay and Lesbian
support group (GLAD)
sues Massachusetts
under Equal Protection
Clause in MA
Constitution
 Massachusetts Court
rules in favor of GLAD
(4-3 Ruling)
ARGUMENTS
GLAD
 Violation of Equal
Protection Clause
 Same sex couples are
unable to receive the
same benefits as
married couples
Tax benefits
Property Rights
Etc.
State of Massachusetts
 Institution of Marriage
promotes procreation
 Benefits of
heterosexual parents
 Administrative
inconvenience
REASONS FOR DECISION
Modern day
fertilization
advances
No proof same sex
couples could not
parent
State could not deny
any citizen basic
marital rights
WHY MASSACHUSETTS AND NOT
VERMONT?
VERMONT
 Vermont Constitution–
Common Benefits
Clause
MASSACHUSETTS
 No pre-existing equality
clause
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
 The Court gave the Legislature 180 days to make a decision
 The Legislature tried to make a slight change
 Civil union as opposed to marriage
 Court says “No!”
 "[w]ithout the right to choose to marry, same-sex couples are not only
denied full protection of the laws, but are excluded from the full
range of human experience.” – Massachusetts Court
 “only a right to enter civil marriage would cure the constitutional
infirmity in the state's law” –CNN
 MGL c.207. Marriage. The same
laws and procedures that govern
traditional marriage also apply to
same-sex marriages. There are no
special procedures for a same-sex
marriage.
MASS LAW
M a s s a c h us et t s
C o n s t i t ut i o n
RESOURCES
Case Brief Summmary. "Goodridge v. Dept. of Public
Health." Case Brief Summar y. Case Brief Summary, 6
Nov. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
Grossman, Joanna. "How Same -sex Marriage Became Legal in
Massachusetts." CNN. Cable News Network, 6 Feb. 2004.
Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
Law Libraries. "Massachusetts Law About Same-Sex
Marriage." Massachusetts Law About Same-Sex Marriage.
Massachusetts Trial Court Law Liberties, 28 Feb. 2013.
Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
ProCon.org. "Same-Sex Marriage Timeline." ProCon.org. 11 Feb.
2013. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
*All Images from Google