November 19, 2003

On Tuesday, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that the state's constitution guarantees gay couples the right to marry.

Said Chief Justice Margaret Marshall:

"We declare that barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution."

The court told the state Legislature that it has 180 days to revise Massachusetts marriage laws to reflect the new ruling.

Almost immediately, the 4-3 decision was denounced by numerous national leaders as patently contrary to societal norms.

President Bush issued a statement from London saying that "marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman. Today's decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court violates this important principle. I will work with congressional leaders and others to do what is legally necessary to defend the sanctity of marriage."

Gov. Mitt Romney condemned the ruling in these words: "I agree with 3,000 years of recorded history. Marriage is an institution between a man and a woman, . . . and our constitution and laws should reflect that."

Added state Attorney General Tom Reilly: "I have always believed in treating people fairly. But I also believe that such profound change in social policy should have been decided by the Legislature, not the courts."

Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes stated: "This is a moral travesty that shows once again the danger of allowing a judicial dictatorship to run roughshod over the moral sensibilities of our people."

The Rev. Jerry Falwell predicted that Massachusetts voters will approve an amendment to the state constitution to defuse the court's decision. "The people of Massachusetts, one of the more liberal states, will do what Hawaii and other liberal states have done. They'll say no to it."

A cursory visit to Webster's New World Dictionary of the English Language, Second College Edition, yielded the following:

"Marriage refers to the state of, or relation between, a man and woman who have become husband and wife, or to the ceremony marking this union" (emphasis added).