Introduction

In 2003, Massachusetts became the first state in the United States of America to legalize same-sex marriage. Massachusetts was the pioneer state back then and was used as a role model by many other states in the coming years. In 2004, same-sex marriage was also legalized by court order, which significantly increased marriage among lesbians, bisexual women, and gay men. The biggest group that benefited from this legalization were lesbian couples. Many states were careful about this issue and had a close look on Massachusetts watching if this legalization would have any effects on heterosexual couples, which it did not. The marriage of heterosexual couples was on the same level, as before the legalization of same-sex marriage, having no effects on them. However, this legalization didn’t resolve all sorts of discrimination towards the LGBTQ+ community; there were still many issues and obstacles. This project will focus on the historical significance of this legalization and the direct effects of same-sex marriage in the state of Massachusetts, with clear evidence coming directly from that state. (Carpenter, 1765)

The background of this is very important because in 2001, seven same-sex couples were denied marriage licenses in the state of Massachusetts, which led to a court trial that had gained worldwide recognition. The case was called “The Hillary and Julie Goodbrige Case” because that was one of the couples that got denied marriage licenses in 2001. The lesbian couple was together for nearly two decades and had a daughter together. When it comes to this case, this case was sent directly to the state’s Supreme Juridical Court and was voted in favor 4-3 for the lesbian couple. (Carpenter 1766)

For my independent study project, I decided to do a virtual exhibition about same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and how important the milestone was for the LGBTQ community, not just in the United States, but in the whole world. So, now I just want to give a brief introduction how things were heated back then in the late 90s and early 2000s around the state of Massachusetts. Since it was a very big thing, Massachusetts was a real ground-breaker in the topic of same-sex marriage and opened up many doors with the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2003. Most of the people in the United States followed closely the situation happening in Massachusetts, which showed only positive aspects and no negative aspects. Since the case of Massachusetts was so successful, many states followed a few years later, such as California, Connecticut, etc.

By also legalizing same-sex marriage in their states, a sexual minority got their rights and nothing was taken away from anybody in the country. This showed a drastic shift in public opinions about same-sex marriage since the positive aspects of it were clearly seen and the percentage of supporters of same-sex marriage was at an all-time high. In the late 2000s, Massachusetts is a great example of how they started this risky war and it turned out to be fine, respected and followed by many states later on. (Carpenter 1771)