10 Years of Marriage Equality in Massachusetts — Still No Locusts

I’m pleased to report that a day before the 10th anniversary of the ruling that brought marriage equality to Massachusetts, there are still no swarms of locusts, plagues, or other signs of heavenly disfavor. In fact, in 2004, the same year that marriage equality was enacted, the Red Sox won the World Series after an 86-year gap, breaking the infamous “Curse of the Bambino.” Just saying.

I started this blog only a year after that, and in 2007, reported on the launch party for Patricia Gozemba, Karen Kahn, and Marilyn Humphries’ superlative history in prose and photographs, Courting Equality: A Documentary History of America’s First Legal Same-Sex Marriages. Even three years after the marriage ruling, it was still possible that a constitutional convention could have put the matter to the voters, where its survival was not at all a sure thing.

GLAD has more on the history of marriage equality in Massachusetts, including clips from Mary Bonauto, lead counsel in the case (and a lesbian mom). Now, marriage equality across the country looks like this.

And I’m so proud that at my own marriage in Massachusetts in 2006, our justice of the peace read this:

We still have far to go, not only in terms of marriage equality, but also in terms of other rights and protections for LGBT people in Massachusetts and beyond. That does not mean we should not celebrate our victories, however, or reflect on how far we’ve come.