Manplay.com’s Informative About Massachusett’s Gay Marriage

Manplay.com is the place where you can connect to other hotties like yourself in the state, but you can also learn plenty about Massachusetts gay marriage. We want to give you a rundown on one of the most controversial subjects to have graced American politics and culture: gay marriage. Learn what it took for men and women to bring equal rights to the gay couples throughout Massachusetts and find out more about what made gay marriage legal in Mississippi. Learn all you can about gay marriage with us.

Massachusetts Gay Marriage History

Massachusetts gay marriage has had a long battle since the early 1970’s. The 70s were the beginnings of the gay rights movement moving across the United States. Several figures in office and out of office have campaigned for Massachusetts gay marriage for at least three decades. However those who have opposed it, have been members of the Roman Catholic Church and various ‘traditional family leagues’ who frequently viewed same sex marriage as some sort of terrible evil and did not want Massachusetts to become a mecca for gay marriage across the United States. In 2004 a law was finally passed that essentially allowed same sex marriage. Massachusetts was one of the first legal jurisdictions in the world to pass a law affirming, providing and allowing for gay marriage. Manplay.com offers you an informative narrative of what happened in the long, bureaucratic debate and struggle for legalizing Massachusetts gay marriage.

Some Hurdles For Gay Rights In The State

When it comes to understanding more about Massachusetts gay marriage, you have to understand some of its long history regarding gay rights. Massachusett’s legislature had been determined to pass a law that made it illegal to discriminate in all walks of life. This bill was proposed in 1973 and was not finally passed in 1989. The law extended to all walks of life. However this law, although a step in the right direction, did not include gay marriage, nor did it include any form of laws for domestic relationships, which is what many gay couples requested. In 1985, Governor Dukakis was determined to ensure that gay parents could not and would adopt foster children. This was a step back for gay rights. Then, in 1993, the high court claimed that foster parents and adoptions could extend to same sex couples. In 1992, Massachusett’s governor ordered a release of benefits for gay partners and ‘spouses’. This was not enough and didn’t provide for the many gay couples throughout the state. Despite the small step in the right direction, many still opposed this law, including the Roman Catholic church who claimed that infringed on traditional family and would also ‘harm the common good’. Several of Boston’s mayors attempted to pass orders and laws that would allow benefits for same-sex partners, but each action was opposed by the Catholic Action League. This proved to be a very trying and difficult time for gay couples in the state, and the concept of Massachusett’s gay marriage was being struck down left, right and centre.

Success For Gay Civil Unions

In light of many other national cases about gay marriage and whether or not other states could or could recognize licenses for gay couples, Massachusett’s fell under pressure with many similar cases. Several leaders attempted to pass laws that would prevent a gay married couple, from Holland for example, being granted the rights that straight married couples would receive, who had been married legally in the state of Massachusetts. Then in 2001, The Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) filed a lawsuit against the department of Public Health, and claimed that having rights for only straight couples and denying any same-sex couple, married or not, equal rights was wholly unconstitutional. However Judge Connolly of Suffolk County Massachusetts made the claim and judgement that marriage was not ‘gender neutral’. GLAD took the lawsuit to the Supreme Judicial Court in 2003 and this was successful because the court determined that granting less than equal rights to a gay couple was unconstitutional. Naturally, Governor Mitt Romney did not agree with the decision, however followed the law and attempted to pass a law that would allow for same sex marriage. However this law was only for civil unions. There were many opponents to the law.

A Battle Of Words With Gay Rights

Despite the fact that it seemed that civil unions were a step in the right direction, the Supreme Judicial Court determined that civil unions are not enough and gay marriage must carry the exact same benefits, rights and family standards of a straight couple. There were several attempts to bring the gay marriage debate to fruition, but it met much opposition and there was an absolute bureaucratic nightmare to pass it. For example, in order for a debate to take place it need support from both the senate and the state legislature. These meetings took place months apart, and a point of concern was whether marriage licenses could be issued to same sex couples in the time that was requested. During the Constitutional Convention in 2004, the state legislature, after much debate, passed a law that allowed for civil unions between gay couples. This law stipulated that civil unions were essentially not federally binding. This had to do with whether civil unions could be recognized out of state. This was a small step in the right direction. However, even with a civil union, the Supreme Judicial Court still defined gay couples having civil unions, still fell under the statutes of discrimination. The questions was: Why don’t gay couples get the same benefits as straight couples?

Massachussetts Gay Marriage Gets Attention

Finally, during the 2004 Massachusetts state election, Massachusetts gay marriage started to get some more support. Several key figures in politics who supported gay marriage started to gain a foothold in the state power vacuum that was being formed during the election. The gay marriage law and bill of rights that was played out by the judicial court, was titled Goodridge. Lawmakers referred to Goodridge, continually when they were talking about gay marriage.

Thank The State Clerks Of Massachusetts

The marriage rates that followed in Massachusetts proved to be spellbinding. In the first year, more 6200 gay couples married. Then the number fell in the second year. 64% of these marriages involved lesbian couples. In total, there 22,406 gay marriages performed in Massachusetts from 2004 to 2012. A Decision Research poll, that uses actual registered voters in Massachusetts determined that 62% of the population supported gay marriage. This reflects the general consensus in state society. This number is also accurate in describing how civil unions fell into the category of marriage simply through some town clerks determine that they would not police same sex marriages and would comply with legal hurdles that ensured that marriage licenses would remain gender neutral. Also, as many know, gay marriage has made economic sense for years and according to UCLA, Massachusetts gay marriage would add $37 million in revenue for the state. It would also increase jobs and prove to be a stimulating feature for the economy. In essence, gay marriage opens doors. Consider how gay marriage makes economic sense when Forbes magazine tells you why!

The Current Status Of Massachusetts Gay Marriage: It’s Here To Stay

Many of the hurdles that lawmakers and politicians faced in relation to gay marriage proved that the debate had gone on too long. The question of marriage was simply a question of can party A marry B? The answer was a resounding yes and the state and soon town clerks began to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples providing that those being married were truthful in their will to marry. This was simply an act of defiance but also legality, because the terms brought forward during the civil union debate and the Goodridge lawsuit, proved to be effective in changing the way marriage ended up working. For example marriage license forms didn’t specify gender. As more and more clerks around Massachusetts began signing marriage licenses for gay couples, it seemed that gay marriage was here to stay.

The Future of Massachusetts Gay Marriage: Bureaucratic Shortcomings

However, more and more opponents of gay marriage continued to stand in the way of guaranteeing same-sex couples equal rights. The Massachusetts state constitution had not been changed either. It proved to be a difficult road for gay rights activists, because although marriage licenses were being issued, there still stood questions about recognition in other states and whether the state would still recognize out of state marriages. Over several years, the debate continued, petitions were signed and lawmakers continued to try and change laws that would stop same-sex couples from being able to marry. Finally in 2012, the Supreme Judicial Court voted in favour of recognizing a civil union between two women in Vermont, as a legal marriage. This had largely to do with the fact that if civil unions were not recognized from out of state, then how could the civil unions between same-sex couples be recognized. It seems interesting to note that much of the language of the civil unions did not seem to inhibit any Massachusetts gay couple from actually being married. Since the Supreme Court’s decision regarding gay marriage in 2015, we can safely say that gay marriage is - and always will be - here to stay!

Some External Links About Massachusetts Gay Marriage

There are thousands of ways to have fun in historic Massachusetts, but you should take a look at some the following links to get some ideas for where to go for gay marriage:

1. How To Get Married In Massachusetts From GLAD
2. Plan Your Wedding in Massachusetts
3. The ACLU Guide to Weddings in The Commonwealth
4. Great Links to Gay Friendly Wedding Vendors
5. Lesbian Life’s Tips For Great Weddings In Massachusetts