Massachusetts on Friday celebrates the
13th anniversary of the landmark ruling which legalized
marriage equality in the commonwealth.
On November 18, 2003, Massachusetts
became the first state in U.S. history to declare a state ban on gay
and lesbian couples marrying unconstitutional.
Then-Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican
and a possible candidate for secretary of state in the Trump
administration, attempted to reverse and undermine the Supreme
Judicial Court's ruling.
Marriage equality became the law of the
land last year when the Supreme Court found that gay couples have a
constitutional right to marry.
Mary Bonauto, civil rights project
director at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), was
the lead attorney in the lawsuit which struck down the prohibition in
Massachusetts.
“With more same-sex marriages, you
saw more people changing their minds,” Bonauto told the AP in 2013.
“Seeing gay people with their extended families, seeing the
commitment, that's what has turned this around.”
President-elect Donald Trump recently
said that he's “fine” with the Supreme Court's ruling.
(Related: Jim
Obergefell says he doesn't trust Trump on marriage equality.)