Ten years ago today the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that it was unconstitutional to deny same sex couples the right to marry. Jan & I lived in Massachusetts then and I was serving the UU church in Newton.
My first wedding for same sex couples where I was able to say “By the authority granted me by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts” was a very private affair involving a colleague who wanted a larger church wedding later, but just in case there was legislative action to reverse the court wanted something legal and now. The couple, two witnesses and I stood in the couple’s living room.
A few weeks later I officiated at a major church wedding with a local power couple. There were some five hundred people present including the mayor. When I got to that line about the Commonwealth people starting cheering and clapping – it took five minutes and more before the commotion slowed down enough for me to finish the pronouncement. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Including mine.
Sometimes justice does come…
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In