Unitarian Universalists Join Landmark Suit Seeking Same Sex Civil Marriage Rights in Massachusetts
(Boston, MA April 13, 2001) In a landmark case that has implications throughout the US and Canada, seven Unitarian Universalists have filed suit as part of a group of seven gay and lesbian couples who seek the right to marry in Massachusetts. The suit, filed on April 11, 2001 in Suffolk (MA) Superior Court, asserts that the couples had all been denied marriage licenses at their municipal town halls, and seeks, through this action, to gain the legal recognition "that same-sex couples -- whose relationships are as loving and as committed as those of heterosexual couples -- have an equal right to civil marriage," according to Mary Bonauto, Civil Rights Director for GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders) and co-counsel in the landmark Vermont marriage case of last year.
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Lead complainants Julie and Hillary
Goodridge with daughter Annie Photo Courtesy of Glad |
The lead plaintiffs in the case are Hillary and Julie Goodridge. Hillary Goodridge, a Unitarian Universalist, is Program Director of the UU Funding Program, which gives nearly $1 million in grants annually to denominational, social service and justice programs throughout the continent; Julie Goodridge is president and founder of NorthStar Asset Management, Inc., an investment advisory firm specializing in socially responsible investing.
The Goodridges are joined in the suit by three Unitarian Universalist couples. They are David Wilson and Robert Compton, members of the Arlington Street Church in Boston; Richard Linnell and Gary Chalmers, members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester; and Gloria Bailey and Linda Davies, members of First Parish in Brewster.
The Goodridges are parents of a five-year-old daughter. Their claim states, in part, "These plaintiffs and their minor child are denied on a daily basis the social and legal status of a marital relationship, as well as the protections, benefits and obligations -- financial, legal, emotional, and others -- afforded to other couples. They seek to marry not only obtain the same protections and responsibilities under law as other couples, but because they don't want their daughter to be deprived of the social recognition and security which comes from having married parents."
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UUs David Wilson and Robert Compton have
also joined the suit Photo Courtesy of Glad |
UUs played an active role in advancing support for the Vermont Civil Union bill in April of 2000, and the UUA's position in support of civil rights for bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender persons was earlier demonstrated through passage of the UUA General Assembly's vote in 1996 of an Action of Immediate Witness affirming "Support of the Right to Marry for Same Sex Couples".
Further information about the UUA's support of bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender people, as well as resources and program support, can be found on the UUA website at http://www.uua.org/obgltc , or by contacting the Rev. Keith Kron, director of the office.