In this May 20, 2004 file photo, Suzanne Nightingale, 49, left, and Kathleen Clementson, 62, of Cape Coral, Fla., display their rings at their wedding ceremony on Saint's Landing Beach in Brewster, Mass. during the first week of state-sanctioned gay marriage in America. It's been a decade since the highest court in Massachusetts issued its landmark ruling legalizing same-sex marriage by declaring that barring marriage for gay couples is unconstitutional. (Elise Amendola/AP)
On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex unions, thanks to the Supreme Judicial Court ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health.
The lawsuit was filed by the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, on behalf of 14 plaintiffs when they were denied marriage licenses in 2001. The court ruled 4-3 on November 18, 2003, saying it was unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the right to marry. They said marriages could begin six months later.
“The Massachusetts Constitution affirms the dignity and equality of all Individuals,” Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall wrote in her majority ruling, which continues to be included in wedding celebrations. “It forbids the creation of second-class citizens.”
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of marriage equality in the commonwealth, here are moments captured that day.
Hillary Goodridge, left, Julie Goodridge right, their daughter Annie, second right, and lawyer Mary Bonauto, left, celebrate as they leave City Hall in Boston after the Goodridge's became the first same-sex couple in the city of Boston to be allowed to apply for a marriage license. (Stan Honda via Getty Images)Marcia Hams, center, and her partner Susan Shepherd, right, both of Cambridge, raise their hands to take an oath administered by City Clerk D. Margaret Drury, left, at Cambridge City Hall as they apply for a marriage license several minutes after midnight. They were the first couple to begin the application process as Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex unions in the United States. (Steven Senne/AP)A couple clasp hands in response to applause from a large crowd as they emerge from Cambridge City Hall after applying for a marriage license Cambridge opened its city hall before midnight to become the first city in the state to issue licenses for same sex marriages. (Michael Springer/Getty Images)Walt Weiss, left, and partner Robert Napolitano, right, of New York City, celebrate after receiving their marriage license in Provincetown. (William B. Plowman/Getty Images)Members of the Boston Gay Men's Chorus applaud as Unitarian Rev. Kim Crawford Harvie (in white robe) announces she is able to legally marry David Wilson and Robert Compton at Arlington Street Church in Boston, Wilson and Compton joined with 12 other plaintiffs in the court case that legalized gay marriage in Massachusetts. (Stan Honda via Getty Images)Robert Compton, right, embraces his partner David Wilson following the exchange of their wedding vows at the Arlington Street Unitarian Universalist Church. (Victoria Arocho/AP)Leah Finch, second left and her partner, Adrien Hornby, right, take an oath with their daughter, Molly Hornby-Finch, in front of Northampton City Clerk Wendy Mazza while applying for a marriage license at the Wallace J. Puchalski Municipal Building. (Angela Jimenez/Getty Images)Lead plaintiff couple Julie, left, and Hillary Goodridge speak to the media after their marriage ceremony at the Unitarian Universalist church during the first day of state-sanctioned gay marriage in the United States. (Elise Amendola/AP)
