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Justices Show Courage and Integrity in Face of Unprecedented Pressure from White House and Right Wing

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Elected Officials Called to Support this "truly American" decision and back off divisive campaign of scapegoating gay Americans

Statement by Matt Foreman, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director:

"Today's ruling is a profound reaffirmation of the role of the independent judiciary in American democracy. In spite of an extraordinary - indeed, unprecedented - campaign of intimidation and threat of culture war from the White House on down, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held its ground and reaffirmed that discrimination against same sex couples in marriage rights is unconstitutional. We salute the court's courage and integrity.

Contrary to the claims of our opponents, this decision does not represent 'judicial activism.' Instead, this truly-American decision is part of a 200-plus year tradition of our courts interpreting the law and fulfilling the constitutional promise of equality for all without fear of political retribution. This is exemplified in the court's response to the state senate's question if civil unions would suffice: 'The history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal.'

We know this ruling will fuel even more anti-gay rhetoric and spur ongoing campaigns to amend both the federal and Massachusetts constitutions to enshrine gay people's second class citizenship for generations to come. That is wrong and a transparent political ploy to scapegoat a minority community in the interest of partisan electoral politics.

We call upon President Bush, Governor Mitt Romney, and the political leadership of Massachusetts to respect the role of our courts and support this decision which does nothing more than give our families full equality under Massachusetts law.

As always, we applaud Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, MassEquality and the others working so hard in Massachusetts for their extraordinary work."

For more information on marriage, log on to the Task Force Marriage Information Resource Center.

OTHER RESOURCES:

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court opinions of justices to Senate clarifying November 18, 2003 Goodridge decision.

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court November 18, 2003 ruling in Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health as a PDF download.

QUOTES ATTACKING "JUDICIAL ACTIVISM" FROM THOSE WHO WOULD DENY EQUAL MARRIAGE RIGHTS TO SAME-SEX COUPLES:

As reported by Eric Johnson on Gay.com on January 29, 2001:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist came under fire from gay activists Thursday, following a comment he made to a conservative political gathering that implied gay families are not legitimate.

"We will do whatever it takes to protect, preserve and strengthen the institution of marriage against activist judges," Sen. Frist, R-Tenn., told members of the Conservative Political Action Conference last week. "If that means we must amend the Constitution, we will do it."

Those judges, he added, are also "intent on destroying the traditional definition of family." Frist's reference to "activist judges" was a swipe at the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, which ruled Nov. 18 that the state Legislature must rewrite state law to recognize same-sex marriage.

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President George W. Bush in the January 20, 2004 State of the Union address:

Activist judges, however, have begun redefining marriage by court order, without regard for the will of the people and their elected representatives. On an issue of such great consequence, the people's voice must be heard. If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process. Our Nation must defend the sanctity of marriage.

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Arizona Daily Sun report by Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services on January 30, 2004:

A Senate panel voted Thursday to ask Congress to amend the Constitution to keep gays from getting married - and even to block courts from requiring states to give them equal rights.

The 4-3 party line vote of the Senate Family Services Committee, with Republicans in the majority, came over the objections from several ministers who said there is a danger in government intervention into what they say is a private and religious matter.

But the panel instead accepted the arguments of Gary Lavy, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, who said the U.S. Constitution needs to spell out that marriage "shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman."

Lavy said a constitutional amendment would not be necessary if judges respected states' rights, such as Arizona's own law which precludes gay marriages. He said, though, that does not always occur.

He cited last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling which voided a Texas anti-sodomy law. The majority said that the state had no right to interfere with what is a private relationship.

"The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the moral judgment of the Texas Legislature and imposed the moral views of six justices on the entire country," Lavy told lawmakers.

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Rev. Lou Sheldon, Chairman, Traditional Values Coalition from an editorial titled: Traditional Marriage Is Worth Protecting!, Tuesday, October 14, 2003:

The FMA defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman. It also forbids states or courts from redefining marriage to include same-sex relationships. Moreover, it prevents liberal courts from forcing state legislatures to give the legal benefits of marriage to homosexuals-as the Vermont Supreme Court did several years ago. The FMA allows state legislatures to make these determinations-not unelected judges.

Congress must pass the Federal Marriage Amendment to protect traditional marriage.

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Wisconsin State Journal report by Phil Brinkman on January 30, 2004:

Republican lawmakers are again seeking to prevent gay and lesbian marriages from becoming legal in Wisconsin, pushing for an amendment to the state constitution to recognize only unions between one man and one woman.

The move comes three months after Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed legislation that would have done the same thing. By seeking to make the provision part of the constitution, legislators can go around the governor if the measure is approved in two successive sessions of the Legislature and in a statewide referendum.

If approved, the amendment could go to voters as early as spring 2005.

A constitutional amendment also carries more weight than state law, which already limits marriage to "a husband and wife."

Supporters say the change is needed to prevent "activist judges" from ruling that the constitution's guarantee of equal rights for all trumps state law and gives gays and lesbians the right to marry. The Massachusetts high court made such a finding late last year.

"With just one or two Doyle appointments to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the Massachusetts decision will be the Wisconsin decision within just a few years," said state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, one of the amendment's authors.

Opponents vowed to fight the proposal, which they said seeks to enshrine discrimination against gays and lesbians, who can't get married now.

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.