NEARLY 5,000 same-sex couples have been issued licenses to marry in Massachusetts since May 17, 2004, a development that has unleashed waves of political backlash as leaders have tried to undermine the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Goodridge. But same-sex marriage is a reality; it’s here to stay and it will eventually become the law of the land. Safeguarding same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and building on our breakthrough here is an urgent project for the LGBT political movement, despite the devastating 2004 elections. There is no way out of this political morass but through it. Having won the right to marry in one state, we must hold it and expand upon it, even while facing a national majority that opposes gay marriage.
