Celebrating Goodridge's social innovation

Five years to the day that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court declared that same-sex couples were entitled to civil marriage rights under the state constitution, a group of marriage equality advocacy organizations were honored by the Boston History and Innovation Collaborative with its Social Innovation Award.

Gov. Deval Patrick presented the award to the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Freedom to Marry Coalition of Massachusetts, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) MassEquality and the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus (MGLPC), the six organizations that led the multi-year effort to obtain and secure marriage equality in the state of Massachusetts.

The ceremony took place during the collaborative's annual History and Innovation Awards Dinner at the Boston Intercontinental Hotel on Nov. 18.

Patrick, who played a pivotal role in the final chapter of the marriage battle by working with legislative leaders to defeat an anti-gay marriage amendment in 2007, received a standing ovation from the crowd assembled in the hotel's Rose Kennedy Ballroom as he took the stage to present the award.

"I am thrilled to be here tonight to present this year's award for social innovation," said the governor.

"Innovation. It's really quite simple in my view. If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got," he said drawing laughter from the crowd. "And it works in the case of social changes as well. Tonight we honor social innovators." Noting the five-year anniversary of the SJC's ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, Patrick reiterated his oft-stated assertion that the court simply affirmed the principle "that people come before their governments as equals."

"I know there remains work to be done," said Patrick, noting that while Connecticut celebrated the arrival of marriage equality last week, same-sex marriage rights in California were rolled back on Election Day."

"No one in here ever thought that these issues would be easy," the governor continued. "And I know that we must all be ready to keep working. Now is no time for complacency nor is it time for a single-issue focus. Whether we're facing fiscal challenges or social ones, we need to strengthen our bonds of community our understanding of connectedness and common cause because we are better in every case when we work together."

GLAD's Mary Bonauto, the architect of the 2001 Goodridge lawsuit that resulted in the SJC's historic Nov. 18, 2003 ruling, accepted the award on behalf of the six advocacy organizations. Joining Bonauto onstage were ACLU Executive Director Carol Rose, Freedom to Marry's Valerie Fein-Zachary and Rob Henry, MassEquality Executive Director Marc Solomon and MGLPC Co-Chair Arline Isaacson.

"When the Supreme Judicial Curt made its ruling five years ago it forever changed the standards for how gay people must be treated under law and raised the bar across this country," Bonauto told the audience.

She recalled that when she read the passage of the Goodridge decision that stated, "the Massachusetts constitution affirms the dignity and equality of all individuals. It forbids the creation of second-class citizens," she wept.

"I'm not a weeper," Bonauto added, to laughter from the crowd.

"To know that the court was ending legal double standards for gay people and breaking an historic barrier was beyond moving," she said. "I was awed that our system works - that the courts could play a role in vindicating the constitutional rights of a minority even when doing so is controversial."

"Then of course it was time to get to work," she continued, a reference to the legislative battle that ensued when marriage equality opponents pushed to reverse the decision through a constitutional amendment.

Bonauto heaped credit on the many individuals and groups that worked to preserve the Goodridge decision.

"I accept this award tonight on behalf of all of them and there are many, including of course, my co-honorees from MassEquality, the Mass. Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, the Freedom to Marry Coalition, the ACLU and my colleagues at GLAD and our terrific seven outstanding plaintiff couples," she said.

"I also accept this award for so many other organizations, gay and non-gay who believe in civil rights, who worked in the legislature to prevent amendments to our majestic guarantee of equality in the state constitution," added Bonauto.

She continued: "I accept this award for the members of the legislature who spent time listening to, and leaning from their constituents and who then momentously voted to embrace the lesbian and gay citizenry and reject calls to take away ... rights for gay people.

"I accept the award on behalf of public officials, and if I may, on behalf of the governor, a man who used his bully pulpit to speak out boldly, clearly and often for gay people's common humanity and equal citizenship.

"Last but not least," Bonauto concluded, "I accept the award for the countless individuals, including the plaintiffs who spoke about their lives with honesty, courage and sometimes with vulnerability to legislators, family members, parents at their children's schools, community members at their temples and churches and demonstrated that common humanity and [sought] support for that equal citizenship."

The Boston History & Innovation Collaborative is an 11-year-old non-profit that works to sustain the city's centuries-old tradition of innovation through action, research, education and celebration. The Social Innovation Award was among a handful of honors bestowed upon individuals and organizations at the dinner. Other awardees included the Dimock Center for innovation in healthcare, The Trustees of Reservations for environmental innovation; and Dr. Robert Langer and the late Dr. Judah Folkman for innovation in health and technology. A special Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Mary Smoyer, the founder of the Boston Women's Heritage Trail.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino was on hand to present the Environmental Innovation Award to Andrew Kendall, president of Trustees of Reservations. In an interview with Bay Windows at the close of the event, Menino, who has also played a pivotal role in the state's LGBT rights history, offered his thoughts about the honor given to marriage equality advocates on Goodridge's fifth anniversary. "Except for Arline Isaacson, everything was great," said Menino, as Isaacson, standing within earshot, burst into laughter.

"I never saw it as a tough political issue," Menino said of marriage equality. "I honestly didn't."

Nonetheless, he called the honor given by the Boston History & Innovation Collaborative to the organizations that fought the marriage equality battle "very special."

"They were the pioneers who fought the fight, they were in there every day," said the mayor. "Sometimes it wasn't easy. They had a lot of forces against them."