Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, Same-Sex Marriage, and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court as Critical Social Movement Ally

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Abstract

Goodridge v. Department of Public Health was the first state supreme court decision to legalize same-sex marriage in the United States. This Article draws upon social movement theory in the field of communication to examine how the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court played a leading role from within the establishment in furthering the social movement for same-sex marriage in the United States. The Article looks at the various opinions in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, as well as those in Opinions of the Justices to the Senate, the Court’s responses to the Massachusetts Senate’s request for an advisory opinion on providing civil unions but not marriage to sexual minorities, to see how the members of the Court, closely divided four votes to three in both sets of opinions, constructed or refrained from constructing marriage as a right that should be available to sexual minorities.

The Article proceeds by offering a brief note on social movement theory in communication; examining the various opinions in Goodridge, including the controlling opinion, a concurring opinion, and three dissenting opinions; and reviewing the ensuing advisory opinions, including the majority opinion and the two dissenting opinions. This discussion should contribute toward a greater understanding of state supreme court rhetoric of social change and also offer some refinement of social movement theory, particularly regarding how a faction within a fractured establishment can further a social movement.

First Page

515

Last Page

554

Publication Date

2021

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