A Marriage of Principles: The Relevance of Federal Precedent and International Sources of Law in Analyzing Claims for a Right to Same-Sex Marriage

Renee M. Landers

Article PDF:

The decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that it is inconsistent with the Massachusetts Constitution for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to “deny the protections, benefits, and obligations conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who wish to marry” ignited a political and legal firestorm. Since the Goodridge decision in November 2003, a number of states have adopted constitutional amendments restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples. . . .

41 New Eng. L. Rev. 683