Celebrating 5 Years of Marriage Equality:
View Our Wedding Photo Album

Last November, GLAD announced 6 x ‘12 – a campaign to work with our partner organizations to win marriage equality in all six New England states by 2012.  Just five short months later, with Connecticut , Vermont , and now Maine and New Hampshire joining Massachusetts as marriage states, we are more than half-way there - and momentum continues to build toward equality across the region. 

State by State:

Maine

The Maine Freedom to Marry Referendum Campaign is underway. Visit Maine Freedom to Marry for updates and to get involved.

Governor Baldacci signed marriage equality into law in Maine on May 6!  The bill was approved by the Maine Senate 21-14 on April 30, and by the Maine House 89-57 on May 5. GLAD has been actively involved in moving this bill forward, including working with our partners to coordinate a successful public hearing on the bill on April 22.

• Watch the video GLAD produced in conjunction with the Maine Freedom to Marry Coalition - Fairness and Respect: The Heart of Who We Are In Maine.
• Read GLAD Civil Rights Project Director Mary Bonauto’s Testimony at the April 22 public hearing on the bill.
• On the blog All Kinds of Families: Maine’s Marriage Equality Hearing.

New Hampshire

Governor Lynch signed marriage equality into law on June 3rd! GLAD worked closely with New Hampshire Freedom to Marry, PFLAG New Hampshire, and other allies to get the marriage bill passed this session. Read Attorney Janson Wu’s reflections on the journey in New Hampshire, and see photos from the final vote in the legislature on our blog.

Vermont

Last week, Vermont became the third marriage equality state in New England, the fourth in the nation (after Iowa’s Supreme Court decision upholding the right of same-sex couples there to wed just days before) – and the first state to achieve marriage equality through a legislative victory. Same-sex couples can begin marrying in September, 2009.

Connecticut

Shortly before the launch of the 6x12 campaign, lesbian and gay couples in Connecticut began marrying, as a result of GLAD’s victory in Kerrigan & Mock v. Department of Public Health.

Massachusetts

On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts become the first state in the U.S. where same-sex couples could legally marry, due to GLAD’s landmark victory in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health.

Rhode Island

While the timeline in Rhode Island may be longer, momentum is building in that state as well, where a marriage bill currently has thirty-one sponsors in the House.

“The recent decision in Iowa shows that the time is right for marriage equality everywhere,” says GLAD Executive Director Lee Swislow, “and New England – as a ‘marriage equality zone’ - is poised to set an example for the entire country.”

In the News:
New York Times - A Push is On for Same-Sex Marriage Rights Across New England

Boston Globe – Same-sex Marriage Bills Gain in New England

Portland Press Herald Editorial: No Time for Compromise on Same-Sex Marriage

Resources:
A Fact Sheet for Marriage Equality Supporters Massachusetts, Marriage Equality, and Schools