Gay Marriage

A Chance Meeting Leads to Lifetime Commitment

May 15, 2024
When Jeffry Pike met Bill Melaragni, he wasn’t looking for a relationship. “We were introduced by a mutual friend,” Melaragni recalled. “The next time I saw Jeff, we were in one of these [Boston Strikers] club meetings, but for reasons we can’t…

Waiting In Line to Make History

May 14, 2024
Twenty years ago, at midnight on May 17, Cambridge City Hall opened its doors to nearly a hundred same-sex couples eager to be among the first in the country to receive their marriage license. Among those in line were Eve Alpern and…
A smiling couple.

Recalling The ‘Happiest Day of My Life’

May 14, 2024
On a hot afternoon in July 2004, Jean Gauthier and Claudia Cassel were married at home, in a small room with four friends in attendance. Gauthier remembers being thankful the small space was air-conditioned. The ceremony was officiated by the Belmont town…
A couple on their wedding day.

A Day That Was Decades in the Making

May 14, 2024
Sharon Rich measures the duration of her relationship with Nancy Reed in decades—they have been together for 40-plus years and married for 20. Rich and Reed were among the long line of couples who got married when marriage equality came to Massachusetts…
A Justly Married sticker on the back of a Volvo.

Landmark Marriage Ruling Marks 20-Year Anniversary

May 14, 2024
Twenty years ago, on May 17, 2004, after a protracted fight, gay and lesbian couples were granted a right that most Americans likely take for granted — the right to marry. “I was elated,” said Jeffry Pike, who participated in demonstrations at…