Same-sex marriages to go ahead in US state
May 17, 2004 - 3:31PM
Lesbian partners Marcia Hams, left, and Susan Shepard hand over their application to become the first same-sex couple to register for a marriage license in Cambridge. Photo: Reuters
City clerks began handing out marriage licence applications to gay couples today, making Massachusetts the first US state to legalise same-sex unions and the United States just one of four countries in the world where homosexuals can legally wed.
The first couple to begin filling out the paperwork was Marcia Hams, 56, and her partner, Susan Shepherd, 52, of Cambridge. They showed up at midnight on Saturday - a full 24 hours ahead of time - to stake out the first spot in line where the city clerk was to hand out the nation's first state-sanctioned gay marriage applications.
"I'm shaking so much," Hams said as she filled out the application while sitting at a table across from a city official.
Outside, throughout the day and into the night, the atmosphere was festive - complete with a giant wedding cake. Officials in the liberal bastion of Cambridge seized the earliest possible moment to begin the process of granting same-sex couples the historic right at the centre of legal battles nationwide.
The state's highest court had ruled gays and lesbians must be allowed to marry beginning today. Some of the couples in line planned to head to the courts as soon as they opened later in the morning to seek waivers allowing them to wed before the usual three-day waiting period.
Massachusetts Conservatives (Gov. Milt Romney and others) are trying to use an outdated law (originally created in 1913 to prevent mixed race couples from other states from marrying in Massachusetts) to keep out of staters from getting married in Massachusetts. They are worried that gays from another state will get married and then go back to their state and contest the right to marry in their own state. That law has not been in-forced in many decades (until today you could get married in Massachusetts without stating your plans to reside in Massachusetts) therefore I believe the use of this old unused law is illegal and discriminatory as it is being used solely to discriminate against gays. This is an example of gubernatorial activism (remember all the conservatives complaining about Judicial activism in this case). An appeals court ruling put it best. "Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support. It brings stability to our society," Chief Justice Margaret Marshall wrote in the long-awaited ruling. "For those who choose to marry, and for their children, marriage provides an abundance of legal, financial and social benefits. In return, it imposes weighty legal, financial, and social obligations."
I have not felt this strongly about domestic social issues since I was a teenager during the later stages of the black civil rights movement. (and to those that do not like the comparison of the black civil rights movement and the current gay civil rights movement, TFB) (and no I am neither gay nor black but I have the common sense to see the similarities, as does Coretta Scott King)
Karma, you take care of it and it will take care of you.
Tears Of Joy At First Gay Marriage Licenses
by Michael J. Meade
365Gay.com Newscenter
Boston Bureau
Posted: May 17, 2004 12:32 am. ET
Updated: May 17, 2004 7:13 am ET
Updated: May 17, 2004 9:25 am ET
(Boston, Massachusetts) The city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Monday became the first community in America to issue marriage license forms to same-sex couples.
Cambridge Mayor Michael Sullivan threw open the doors of city hall about 10 p.m. Sunday night and invited dozens of same-sex couples into the building for a celebration to countdown the minutes until midnight.
There was a three-tiered wedding cake, pastries, and to wash it down, sparkling cider and coffee.
The Cambridge Community Chorus, the Greater Boston Lesbian Chorus, and a choir made up of children from several Cambridge elementary schools performed.
Couples were given numbers as they entered the second floor reception room. At the stroke of midnight, the first number was called.
Marcia Hams, 56, and her partner, Susan Shepherd, 52, entered the history books as the first same-sex couple in America to legally apply for a marriage licence. The couple arrived at city hall 24 hours earlier just to be able to claim the honor.
As the women were handed their marriage applications Hams said she was nervous.
"I'm shaking so much," she said as she filled out the form. "I could collapse at this point."
As each couple was given the forms to fill out, the line grew longer.
By dawn 250 couples had completed the forms, the first step in getting married. They must return to city hall in three days to pick up their licenses and then are able to legally marry.
As the couples left city hall huge cheers went up from well-wishers gathered outside. Police estimate the crowd at about 10,000, many of them straight.
Riot police stood by in case of trouble but only a handful of anti-gay marriage protestors showed up.
Cambridge originally intended to jumpstart issuing licenses long before today. Soon after the Supreme Judicial Court ruling last November that struck down the state's ban on gay marriage Cambridge began looking at ways to immediately issue licenses.
On the advice of its attorney, however, council decided to wait until today. Nevertheless it vowed to be the first community in the state and the country to begin issuing the licenses.
With their marriage applications in their hands several couples dashed to court seeking a waiver of the three-day waiting period to wed.
Among them were Tanya McCloskey, 52 and Marcia Kadish, 56. Once they had a judge's permission they rushed back to Cambridge city hall, got their marriage license and and exchanged vows in a ceremony performed by the city clerk.
''It was really important to us to just be married. We want to be married as soon as we possibly can. Part of it is, we don't know what the Legislature is going to do,'' McCloskey said.
Across the Charles River hundreds of people formed a long line in front of Boston city hall. (story)
That is so amazing that the Mayor threw a party for the potential couples. That just warms my heart.
I believe that music is the ultimate expression of my soul.
For every facet of my humanity, there is a sound that can touch my soul, in a way that words cannot express. ---Outsider
05-17-2004 08:29 AM
