BOSTON, MA ? The Supreme Court of Massachusetts ruled on Tuesday, November 18, that the ban the state had on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional by denying the ?legal, financial and social benefits of marriage? to same-sex couples that wanted to marry. It does not allow the marriage of partners who are the same sex, but is a huge win for the seven couples that sued the state in hopes to gain the right to marry their partners.
Chief Justice Margaret Marshall stated in the court report, ?The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support; it brings stability to our society. The question before us is whether, consistent with the Massachusetts Constitution, the Commonwealth may deny the protections, benefits, and obligations conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who decide to marry. We conclude that it may not.?
The verdict was a 4-3 vote in the Court that gave the Massachusetts state legislature 180 days to solve the problem. This issue has arisen in Alaska, Hawaii, and Vermont before this, and there is strong hope that the fate that befell both Alaska and Hawaii also does not fall on Massachusetts.
After the rulings were made in the latter states, an amendment was added to those respective states? constitution banning same-sex marriages. In Alaska?s state constitution, it states in article 25 that in order for a marriage ?to be valid or recognized in this State, a marriage may exist only between one man and one woman.? Section 23 of Hawaii?s state constitution also states that ?the legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples.? Many hope that in the 180 days that the legislature has to remedy the problem, that such amendments to the constitution do not arise.
Such an amendment would take a minimum of three years to add to the constitution, having to pass with favorable votes through two successive legislatures and then be sent to the voters of Massachusetts for consideration.
The gay and lesbian community has an outpouring of support from the Massachusetts community. Decision Research, a Democratic national public opinion research firm, conducted a survey of 600 randomly chosen registered Massachusetts? voters. They conducted this survey for the Freedom to Marry Coalition of Massachusetts, an organization of supporters unbiased of sexual orientation.
The most important information that was discovered in this survey was that Massachusetts? voters opposed by an overwhelming 3-1 margin passing an amendment that would prohibit civil marriages to gay or lesbian couples. The voters felt this way because they viewed a ban as undesirable and unnecessary.
The survey statistics also stated that 59% of Massachusetts voters (which included 55% of all Catholics, 62% of women, 57% of men, and at least 56% of all the voters from every region in Massachusetts) said that gay or lesbian couples should be allowed to enter in a civil marriage and would view a ban on such a right as discrimination.
Other statistics from the survey stated that 83% of voters fully expected that gay and lesbian marriages would be legal within their lifetime and they would not have a problem with it. 79% of voters also thought that there are much more important items that the state government should be focusing on instead of creating a constitutional amendment banning gay and lesbian marriages.
The governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, made it very clear that he is against the idea of same-sex marriages, believing that marriage should be saved for the union of a man and a woman. However, he declined to comment on what he would do if gay and lesbian marriages became legal in Massachusetts.
President Bush, who believes that marriage should remain to be only between a man and a woman, is discouraging the United States House of Representatives from considering a constitutional ban on gay and lesbian marriage. He believes that it is not yet necessary.
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