Ten years ago this month, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court kicked off a marriage equality revolution with a ground-breaking decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health. The decision made the Commonwealth the first place in the United States that same-sex couples could marry.

On Wednesday, November 20th, Mary L. Bonauto, the Civil Rights Project Director for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the attorney who argued Goodridge before the SJC, will reflect on the intervening years, and the road ahead for LGBT equality, in a 6:30 pm lecture at Old South Meeting House entitled “The Goodridge Decision: 10 Years Out.”  The event is free and open to the public.

Since Massachusetts opened the door, 15 states (and counting) and the District of Columbia have followed.  In the past year, as well, the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition to legally married same-sex couples.

The largest building in colonial Boston, Old South Meeting House was the scene of some of the most dramatic and stirring meetings leading up to the American Revolution. Today, the treasured National Historic Landmark remains an active center for civic dialogue and free expression in the heart of downtown Boston.  The museum is a fitting location for the event because it was at Old South Meeting House that the LGBT community celebrated the Goodridge victory with a rally on November 18, 2004.

The talk is co-sponsored by Old South Meeting House and GLAD, and is made possible by funding from the Lowell Institute.

Event Details

What:                   “The Goodridge Decision: 10 Years Out”
Who:                     Mary L. Bonauto, Civil Rights Project Director for GLAD
When:                  Wednesday, November 20, 6:30 p.m.
Where:                Old South Meeting House
310 Washington Street, Boston, MA
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC