Pivotal day for gay marriage in U.S. nears
Massachusetts move to legalize weddings may intensify backlash in other states
Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau Sunday, May 2, 2004
Washington -- May 17 will change the world for lesbians and gays, for better, or for worse.

On that day, for the first time in U.S. history, a state, Massachusetts, will begin granting marriage licenses to homosexuals with the full blessing of its highest court, if not its voters. After a three-day waiting period between application and license, as required of heterosexuals, same-sex marriage will move from abstraction to reality.

Yet even as gay activists celebrate their civil rights milestone -- achieving their first full measure of equality -- the new Massachusetts reality has set off a ferocious backlash across the country.

Twenty-four states have or are planning to amend their constitutions to ban same-sex marriage. The issue is so contentious that many believe it could tilt the battleground states that will determine whether George Bush or John Kerry is president next year.


~

Straights shun marriage in respect for gays
By Martha Irvine , Associated Press
CHICAGO -- As same-sex couples fight for their right to marry, some straight couples -- who could marry if they wanted to -- are deciding against it. Instead, they're registering as "domestic partners," an option offered by some cities and counties, mainly with gay and lesbian couples in mind.

National statistics aren't available, since some municipalities don't track domestic partners' gender or make their registries public. But experts are noting early signs that, while the marriage rate continues to decline, these alternative arrangements are piquing some straight couples' interest.

Some heterosexuals, following a trend already popular in such countries as Sweden and France, choose domestic partnership for practical reasons.


~

Northampton gays march, many ready to marry
By Associated Press  |  May 2, 2004

NORTHAMPTON -- Throngs of people lined the downtown streets of this city yesterday as hundreds of same-sex couples, some of whom plan to marry, participated in the city's annual gay and lesbian pride march.

Led by two all-women motorcycle groups from Boston and New York City, marchers -- most of them women, and many with children in tow -- carried balloons, rainbow flags, and signs celebrating the upcoming legality of gay marriage in Massachusetts.

Observers along the two-mile parade route, and at the rally that followed, chatted about May 17, when same-sex couples will be first able to apply for marriage licenses in the state.

During the march, the 23d annual, the Freedom Trail Band of Boston broke into a rendition of the Dixie Cups' "Chapel of Love" as the parade proceeded down Main Street.