Breaking news from HRC:
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is scheduled to release its ruling at 10:00am EDT today in the case of Goodridge et al. vs. Department of Public Health. This much anticipated ruling could make Massachusetts the first state to issue civil marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Massachusetts’ highest court ruled Tuesday that same-sex couples are legally entitled to wed under the state constitution, but stopped short of allowing marriage licenses to be issued to the couples who challenged the law.
The Supreme Judicial Court’s 4-3 ruling ordered the Legislature to come up with a solution within 180 days.
The ruling closely matches the 1999 Vermont Supreme Court decision, which led to its Legislature’s approval in 2000 of civil unions that give couples many of the same benefits of marriage.
The decision is the latest in a series of victories for gay rights advocates, but fell short of what the seven couples who sued the state had hoped to receive: the right to marry their longtime companion.
