{"id":7564,"date":"2013-11-18T11:54:24","date_gmt":"2013-11-18T16:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/?p=7564"},"modified":"2013-11-18T11:54:24","modified_gmt":"2013-11-18T16:54:24","slug":"marking-ten-years-of-marriage-equality-in-massachusetts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2013\/11\/marking-ten-years-of-marriage-equality-in-massachusetts.html","title":{"rendered":"Marking Ten Years of Marriage Equality in Massachusetts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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\nTen 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. <\/p>\n

My first wedding for same sex couples where I was able to say \u201cBy the authority granted me by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts\u201d 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\u2019s living room.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 it took five minutes and more before the commotion slowed down enough for me to finish the pronouncement. There wasn\u2019t a dry eye in the house. Including mine.<\/p>\n

Sometimes justice does come\u2026<\/p>\n