feature:
Law student Michael Corliss thought he was just being a “law nerd” when he chose a passage from the landmark court decision that allowed same-sex marriage in Massachusetts to be read at his August wedding ceremony.
But it turned out that Corliss, a Milton native, and his bride, Amelia Neptune, both 28, were not alone.
Portions of the decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the 2003 Supreme Judicial Court ruling that made Massachusetts the first state to recognize gay marriages, have become common wedding readings among both same-sex and heterosexual couples in Massachusetts and beyond, several local wedding celebrants said. …
“Civil marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family,” a key passage reads. “Because it fulfills yearnings for security, safe haven, and connection that express our common humanity, civil marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life’s momentous acts of self-definition.”
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