Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts began on May 17, 2004, as a result of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that it was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts constitution to allow only heterosexual couples to marry. Massachusetts became the sixth jurisdiction in the world (after the Netherlands, Belgium, Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec) to legalize same-sex marriage. It was the first U.S. state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prevents married same-sex partners from having their marriage recognized by the federal government. In 2010, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts held provisions of the Act to be unconstitutional. In May 2012, the First Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the ruling, finding DOMA unconstitutional. The Court stayed enforcement of its decision in anticipation of an appeal to the Supreme Court.
Read more about Same-sex Marriage In Massachusetts: History, Economic Impact, Public Opinion
Famous quotes containing the word marriage:
“What exacerbates the strain in the working class is the absence of money to pay for services they need, economic insecurity, poor daycare, and lack of dignity and boredom in each partner’s job. What exacerbates it in upper-middle class is the instability of paid help and the enormous demands of the career system in which both partners become willing believers. But the tug between traditional and egalitarian models of marriage runs from top to bottom of the class ladder.”
—Arlie Hochschild (20th century)