Ten years ago in a 50-page 4 to 3 ruling on November 18, 2003 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that, "We declare that barring an individual from the protections, benefits & obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution." It was GLAD (Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders), the architects of marriage equality in America who kicked off a marriage equality revolution with their groundbreaking decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health. The decision made the Commonwealth the first place in the United States where gay & lesbian couples could marry. On Wednesday November 20th, Mary L. Bonauto, the Civil Rights Project Director for GLAD & the attorney who argued Goodridge before the SJC will reflect on the intervening years & the road ahead for LGBT equality at Old South Meeting House at 6:30P entitled “The Goodridge Decision: 10 Years Out.” The event is free. Since Massachusetts opened the door to marriage equality 16 states & the District of Columbia have followed. In the past year the U.S. Supreme Court finally struck down the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which denied federal recognition to legally married gay & lesbian couples. Fittingly the Old South Meeting House at 310 Washington Street in Boston was the scene of some of the most dramatic & stirring meetings leading up to the American Revolution. Today the treasured National Historic Landmark remains an active center for civic dialogue & free expression in the heart of downtown Boston. The museum is a fitting location for the event because it was at Old South Meeting House that our LGBT community celebrated the Goodridge victory with a rally on November 18, 2004. “The Goodridge Decision: 10 Years Out” talk is co-sponsored by Old South Meeting House & GLAD & is made possible by funding from the Lowell Institute.
For More Info: glad.org
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