Opinions of the Justices to the Senate
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
802 N.E.2d 565 (Mass. 2004)
Relevant factsFree
The Massachusetts Senate sought an advisory opinion on a bill that would allow same-sex couples to form civil unions carrying all the substantive benefits and responsibilities of marriage, while continuing to bar them from civil marriage itself, framed as a means of preserving marriage's traditional meaning consistent with the court's earlier Goodridge decision.
IssueFree
Whether a state law that segregates same-sex unions from opposite-sex marriages and is not rationally related to a legitimate state interest violates due process and equal protection.