The Supreme Judicial Court held that “barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and
obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the
Massachusetts Constitution.”
The MA Supreme Judicial Court ordered the state’s legislature to do whatever it took to make gay marriage legal in the Commonwealth. It was not the legislature and it was not the executive. It was the judicial.
The case is HILLARY GOODRIDGE & others vs. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH & another. 440 Mass. 309; March 4, 2003 - November 18, 2003; Suffolk County.
“The Supreme Judicial Court held that “barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and
obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the
Massachusetts Constitution.”
The MA Supreme Judicial Court ordered the state’s legislature to do whatever it took to make gay marriage legal in the Commonwealth. It was not the legislature and it was not the executive. It was the judicial.
The case is HILLARY GOODRIDGE & others vs. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH & another. 440 Mass. 309; March 4, 2003 - November 18, 2003; Suffolk County.”
“As Mitt Romney prepares for his second presidential campaign and gay marriage threatens to undermine America’s Judeo-Christian culture, there’s a raging debate about the role he played in instituting gay marriage in Massachusetts during his gubernatorial term. This is important because Governor Romney has positioned himself as a champion of traditional values and claims to have been an opponent of homosexual marriage his entire career.
When the Massachusetts Supreme Court issued a decision in favor of homosexual marriage, — the Goodridge case — Romney unilaterally ordered his state agencies to implement homosexual marriage in Massachusetts. The court did not order him to do this nor had the legislature codified this ruling. Combined with a promise by President Obama to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act, this action by Romney has led significantly contributed to the spread of homosexual marriage nationwide.
Make no mistake; Romney’s action was utterly illegal. In four different parts of the Massachusetts Constitution, it is clearly stated that only the legislature can change laws and one section specifically states that the marriage statutes are determined by the legislature, not by the courts. Even the Supreme Court itself stated that it could not order the legislature to act. All Romney had to do was to declare the court had no authority to enforce its unconstitutional opinion and ignore its decision.
But instead of doing that, Romney abruptly claimed the court opinion was now the law of the land and ordered his Town Clerks and Justices of the Peace to marry homosexuals — even though the legislature never acted to codify the ruling. Indeed, according to a Fox News/AP story, the attorney for the homosexual plaintiffs in Goodridge, held the view that the legislature would have to codify the Goodridge ruling:”