Queer community upbeat over recent gay marriage confirmation

If Julie Goodridge has her way, she and her partner will wed this spring, with an 8-year-old daughter Annie in tow.

Goodridge's efforts to get married are part of a nationwide political and ideological controversy. Goodridge, 46, seeks to marry her partner, Hillary, after a protracted legal battle.

Governor Mitt Romney met with Goodridge and her partner, and the six other plaintiff couples on Friday. "I still haven't recovered," said Goodridge of Romney's attitude toward her family, which she called "absolutely heartless.

Last week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) confirmed its November decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health to legalize civil marriage for same-sex couples. The confirmation struck down the proposed civil union alternative for gay couples as separate and unequal. The firm stance of the court -- and expected passage of a legislative amendment this Wednesday opposing its decision -- means that the decision will likely come down to Massachusetts voters in a 2006 constitutional referendum.

When the SJC ruled on gay marriage last November, "it was such a profound feeling," Goodridge said. Civil marriage and its legal entitlements are "rights that we have already been granted... no one can take them away," Goodridge said.

Meanwhile, opponents to same-sex marriage mobilized to protest the decision. Spokesperson for the Coalition for Marriage Ray McNulty supports an amendment that would redefine marriage as the "exclusive union of one man and one woman."

"[Homosexuals] may choose to live how they will, but the strong feeling exists that they should not be allowed to redefine marriage for the rest of us," McNulty said.

The Coalition for Marriage group is an umbrella organization that includes various religious, community and political groups opposing same-sex marriage.

According to McNulty, members of the Coalition for Marriage "by and large have no ill will to the homosexual community." The Coalition's resistance to gay marriage is "a matter of tradition."

Moreover, McNulty indicated that the SJC overstepped its bounds with the ruling, suggesting that the court could grant benefits for same-sex couples -- such as hospital visitations and inheritances -- without conferring marriage rights to homosexuals.

Goodridge finds these allegations shocking. She said, "some heterosexual couples feel like their relationship is threatened by us getting married, which it obviously isn't."

While some argue that same sex unions would demean the institution of marriage, Goodridge quipped, "[heterosexuals] have done a pretty good job of that on their own."

Although Goodridge believes the SJC decisions were victories for same-sex couples, she expects legislators to exploit the "emotional reaction" of the electorate in order to block same-sex marriage. Goodridge likens the struggle of homosexuals to that of African-Americans during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

"Under what circumstances are civil rights laws passed based on a popular majority? Not many," Goodridge said.

Tufts senior Noris Chavaria and TTLGBC member who is writing his American Studies thesis on civil unions in Argentina said in an e-mail that "the legal work is only a step." According to Chavaria, "same-sex couples will get recognition not only legally, but slowly society will learn and embrace the fact that same sex couples are just as human as opposite sex couples."

Boston's gay community is optimistic about the decisions, despite the opposition. Steve Smith, Executive Director of the Boston Gay Men's Chorus said, "two of the plaintiff couples... are season subscribers to our concerts. At our concerts in December, we acknowledged their presence from the stage and both couples got standing ovations from our audience. Within the Chorus family, our members are thrilled with the decision, which validates our basic civil rights as citizens of the Commonwealth."