On Tuesday, March 12, New England’s Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) will argue a case seeking marriage licenses for gay and lesbian couples.  The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. before Judge Thomas Connolly in Courtroom 4 on the 12th floor of Suffolk Superior Court.  The suit was originally filed in April, 2001 on behalf of seven couples from five counties across the Commonwealth.
 
Both GLAD and the Attorney General’s office, which is defending the suit, agree that there are no facts in dispute and the case can therefore be resolved as a matter of law with no trial.  GLAD will argue that in prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying, the Commonwealth violates the Plaintiffs’ constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights to marriage.  Additionally, GLAD maintains that the Commonwealth can offer no justification for the discrimination the Plaintiffs experience based both on the sex of their intended spouses and their sexual orientation.

“These couples, who have been together between six and thirty years, share homes, families, children, love, respect, and commitment.  All they ask is to be treated fairly and equally,” said Jennifer Levi, GLAD Senior Staff Attorney who will argue the case in court tomorrow.  “Marriage is a legal relationship and a social status that is universally understood.  These couples ask simply that the Commonwealth fulfill the state constitution’s guarantees of equal treatment and not single out gay and lesbian couples by denying them alone access to civil marriage.”

The plaintiff couples in the case are: Hillary and Julie Goodridge of Boston who are the parents of a five-year-old daughter; Michael Horgan and Ed Balmelli of Boston, who are both from large families in Central Massachusetts; Maureen Brodoff and Ellen Wade of Newton who have a 12-year-old daughter; Gloria Bailey and Linda Davies of Orleans who have been a couple for 30 years; Richard Linnell and Gary Chalmers of Northbridge who are the parents of an eight-year-old daughter; Heidi Norton and Gina Smith of Northampton who have two young sons; and Robert Compton and David Wilson of Boston, who are each parents of grown children.  David is also the grandfather of four grandchildren.

The Plaintiff couples and their attorneys will be available for comment on the case after argument outside in the foyer of the 12th floor of the courthouse.