Massachusetts Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage: A New Era
Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage on May 17, 2004, following the state Supreme Judicial Court's ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that barring same-sex couples from civil marriage violated the state constitution. Cambridge City Hall opened at midnight, and the first license was issued to Marcia Hams and Susan Shepherd of Cambridge. Over 6,000 same-sex couples married in Massachusetts in the first year. The ruling triggered a fierce national backlash: eleven states passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage in November 2004, and President George W. Bush endorsed a federal amendment. The tide gradually turned as more states legalized it through courts and legislatures. The Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges decision in 2015 made same-sex marriage legal nationwide.
May 17, 2004
22 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on May 17
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