In her 11 years as chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Margaret Marshall wrote more than 300 opinions, but there is no doubt about which one is her most famous: Goodridge v. Department of Public Health , the 2003 decision that made Massachusetts the first state to allow same-sex couples to marry. The court’s 4-to-3 ruling “broke a history barrier,” says Mary Bonauto, who argued the case as civil rights project director of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD). “It really vindicated humanity in a profound way.”
The decision set the stage for gay marriage cases across the country, including a current suit by GLAD that challenges the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a heterosexual union. In her opinion, Marshall took a hard line against discrimination of all types. “The Massachusetts Constitution affirms the dignity and equality of all individuals,” she wrote. “It forbids the creation of second-class citizens.”
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