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Article: Mass. Court Backs Gay Marriage; 'Civil Unions' Rejected; Same-Sex Couples to Have Equal Status for First Time
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- February 5, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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The highest court in Massachusetts declared yesterday that the
state legislature may not offer "civil union" instead of marriage for
same-sex couples, a ruling that paves the way for the first state-
recognized same-sex marriages in U.S. history.
The ruling, which amplified the Supreme Judicial Court's Nov. 18
decision striking down Massachusetts's opposite-sex-only marriage
laws, was delivered in an advisory opinion sought by the state
Senate.
After the November ruling, the Senate took up a bill that would
have granted same-sex couples all "the protections, benefits and
obligations of civil marriage" -- but called the arrangement
something else. That was the approach Vermont's legislature ...