MSC rules that marriage should be defined between two persons, not man and woman.
Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, 440 Mass. 309 (Mass. 2003), accessed February 25, 2021
We construe civil marriage to mean the voluntary union of two persons as spouses, to the exclusion of all others. This reformulation redresses the plaintiffs' constitutional injury and furthers the aim of marriage to promote stable, exclusive relationships. It advances the two legitimate State interests the department has identified: providing a stable setting for child rearing and conserving State resources. It leaves intact the Legislature's broad discretion to regulate marriage.