BOSTON (ABP) — The lead couple in the lawsuit that led to the nation's first legalized gay marriages have separated, according to news reports.
Hillary and Julie Goodridge, whose names were listed first in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision that led to legalized gay marriage in that state in 2004, have amicably separated, according to a spokesperson for the couple.
Bay Windows, a Boston-area newspaper that focuses on the gay and lesbian community, first reported the news July 20. The spokesperson, Mary Breslauer, said the couple had not filed for divorce.
In the case, Goodridge v. Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Goodridges and six other same-sex couples sued a state agency over its policy of denying marriage licenses to gay couples. The Massachusetts high court agreed in 2003 with the plaintiffs that the policy violated the Massachusetts Constitution's equal-protection provisions, and ordered the legislature to remedy the problem.
The Goodridges joined hundreds of other Massachusetts same-sex couples in getting married May 17, 2004 — the day the court ordered it to become legal. They have a 10-year-old daughter.
The lead attorney who argued the gay couples' case told Bay Windows that she was saddened by the news.
“I'm sad. What can I say?” said Mary Bonauto of the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders. “There's a way in which we all shared their journey. We shared in their happiness; we shared in their joy at being able to get married. They shared their lives with us. When people share their lives with you in that way, it's almost like they become family. So then to hear that they're separating, it's like a gut punch.”
But Bonuato went on to say that divorces should be expected. “Maintaining a long-term relationship is a challenge,” she said. “And, of course, our marriages in Massachusetts have been under attack from day one. We've had the president of the United States attacking us. Despite all of that, many people are better off and more secure.”
According to state officials, about 8,000 same-sex couples have married in Massachusetts since gay marriage became legal there. A small number of those have filed for divorce, with the first taking place in December 2004.
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