20 years later, it’s clear Massachusetts got it right on marriage equality

From the opening shots of the American Revolution, Massachusetts has always blazed a trail of progress for our nation. Twenty years ago the commonwealth became the first state to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples. 

Like the war that birthed our republic, and the inherent values that keep us strong, marriage equality has more than stood the test of time. It’s a lesson public officials — especially those who favor limited government — should remember as certain state legislatures and even the U.S. Supreme Court contemplate actions that could erode the freedom to marry. 

As governor of the commonwealth during the 1990s, I was proud of our role in leading the march to equality. Back then, my decision to appoint gay members to senior positions in state government was controversial. Today, the governor of Massachusetts is openly gay and won her election with a landslide 30 point margin. 

Progress is an incredible thing. 

In 1992, I became the nation’s first governor to recognize same-sex couples. The criticism from the right was fierce. I was even heckled at my own party’s 1992 national GOP convention in Houston. 

I argued then and believe now that the government should stay out of the pocketbook and the bedroom. It is not the job of politicians to dictate which person can marry another based on his or her sexual orientation. 

Under my administration, Massachusetts expanded hate crimes and housing anti-discrimination laws, formed the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, signed a gay student rights bill and supported funding for human service agencies to deal with gay teenagers. These actions were all steps in the march to progress and foreshadowed future events. 

In the 2003 watershed Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health ruling, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court legalized same-sex marriage. Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, whom I had appointed to the bench in 1996, authored the historic decision. 

It was a thunderbolt — one that resonated from coast to coast. 

The next month, I was honored to deliver the homily at the marriage ceremony of two former Cabinet members of my administration, a same-sex couple. By the end of 2013, 15 other states had followed our lead and legalized marriage equality. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court settled the matter at the federal level with its Obergefell v. Hodges decision. 

Two decades later, these are no longer esoteric or philosophical debates. There is concrete data, and it’s abundantly clear that the arguments made by opponents of same-sex marriage did not hold up. 

According to a new analysis from RAND, a nonpartisan and nonprofit research organization, there are simply no facts to support the claim that allowing same-sex couples to marry undermines the institution of marriage for different-sex couples. The doomsday scenarios of widespread harm to families and children have not come to pass. 

Quite the opposite. The freedom to marry for same-sex couples has resulted in many positive effects, including items near and dear to those who favor less intrusive government, such as increased adoption rates, increased mortgage applications and savings to the nation’s health care system. 

With all the positive outcomes, it’s no surprise that more than 7 in 10 Americans call themselves supporters of marriage equality, according to data from Gallup.  

Amid the celebration, potential storm clouds are looming. In the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organizationoverturning the national right to an abortion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the justices, “should reconsider all of this court’s substantive due process precedents, including … Obergefell.” 

Threats like these should be taken seriously and literally. But we should also take heart in knowing that marriage equality did not happen overnight. It took years of hard work over a sustained period.   

The past two decades have established inclusion for same-sex couples as part of the deeply held principle of the freedom to marry. Opponents had their chance to air their arguments, and they lost — in the courts of law and public opinion. 

America is a forward-looking country. The idea of rolling back hard-earned wins like marriage equality should sound as far-fetched as reverting back to being British subjects and paying taxes to the crown. 

As we mark the momentous milestone of 20 years of marriage equality, let us celebrate and also remain focused on preserving progress for the sake of a more perfect union.  

William Weld served as the governor of Massachusetts from 1991-1997.