Happy Anniversary, Marriage Equality in Massachusetts

Seven years ago today, I stood on the street corner in downtown Worcester and watched as supportive onlookers blew bubbles as newlyweds exited City Hall. It was the first day in Massachusetts when same-sex couples could seek marriage licenses and be legally recognized as committed couples. It was a joyous, sunny, perfect day. Overcome with emotion, I called my husband from the sidewalk and described the scene to him. He and I cried tears of joy as I told him about the bubbles, the clapping and cheering amidst the police protection.

Often, we talk with others about remembering "where were you when..." and the event being discussed is tragic. My parents remember each of the Kennedy assassinations. I remember the space shuttle Challenger exploding and of course have my own story of the events as they unfolded on September 11, 2001. I still remember the days following September 11th, when a friend awaited news of her brother's safety and school children repeated their parents' vengeful rhetoric on sidewalks while walking to school in the morning.

It feels wonderful to have a positive "where were you when..." story to tell. Especially on this rainy day in New England today, I'm buoyed by my memories of the blue sky with white fluffy clouds above Worcester's City Hall back in 2004. I think of the cheers, encouragement and mood of celebration that filled the street that day and feel a warmth in my heart and even a little bit of pride that in my home state, marriage equality still exists these past seven years and has fought and won battles and proposals to take it away.

I receive a Massachusetts' Humanities email that details "this day in history." Today's memorable moment was not marriage equality, but the defeat in Massachusetts of separate but equal education. The seventeenth of May might be remembered as a day of civil rights for Massachusetts. I can't help but think that some of that zero tolerance for separate but equal remained a thread of thought and hope over the decades so that in Massachusetts, we worked for marriage equality and not a supposedly separate but equal civil partnership, as other states have done.

So, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Marriage Equality in Massachusetts! May you have many happy years to come!