Aftermath of gay marriage bans discussed at lecture

Most of the commotion over the results of Election 2004 has quieted down. For gays, lesbians and their supporters, there are still questions over the 11 states that passed bans on same-sex marriages. This month's speaker at a meeting for the local chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays showed these people are not alone in their struggle for marriage rights.\nThe November PFLAG meeting Wednesday night included a lecture by IU history and law professor Michael Grossberg. The lecture, "Why Look Back? Historical Perspectives on the Massachusetts Same-Sex Marriage Case," looked at the history of changes in marriage law in America and how the current gay marriage controversy fits in with these changes.\nLocal PFLAG chapter co-chair Lee Formwalt scheduled the lecture during the summer.\n"I knew that gay marriage would be an important part of the election," Formwalt said. "I didn't realize that it would be such a big factor or the results so depressing."\nFormwalt hoped the lecture would give attendants a broader perspective on the gay marriage debate and put it within a historical context.\n"Opponents (to gay marriage) talk about marriage like it is static," Formwalt said. "This will show that marriage is still evolving, and this is one more chapter in an institution that is always changing."\nGrossberg opened his speech by stating the election results and that this recent controversy was not the first time Americans have fought over marriage laws.\nGrossberg became involved when he was asked to participate in the landmark Massachusetts Supreme Court Case, Goodrich v. Department of Health. The case centered on two Boston women who were in a long-term relationship. They had a child together and changed their family name to "Goodrich." When the couple attempted to get married legally, the clerk refused to grant their request. With the assistance of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the couple sued the Department of Health and the case was eventually brought before the Massachusetts Supreme Court. At this stage, GLAAD asked Grossberg and several other professors to write a historical brief supporting gay marriage.\n"We had to explain how and why marriage has changed and therefore change can occur in the present," Grossberg said.\nGrossberg said he feels this brief helped the Court rule in favor of the Goodrichs.\nIn the body of the speech, Grossberg detailed significant changes in marriage law and how he presented them in the historical brief. These changes included the expansion of the rights of married women, who used to have no legal property rights. He felt the acceptance of common law marriage also showed a precedent for protecting established couples. He also showed that interracial marriage bans, which were deemed unconstitutional in the 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia are examples of how changes in marriage law are not necessarily for the better. Grossberg concluded that looking at the past helps how people think of marriage in this century.\n"The past tells us we have choices that must be judged on their own merits and not on traditional values," Grossberg said. "Change does not come from the top down - it comes from individual couples."\nRetired staff member and PFLAG board member Judy Schroeder knows the struggle of change.\n"My son and his partner want to get married but can't because they live in Missouri, which banned gay marriage in a previous election," Schroeder said. "They are having a commitment ceremony to make their union public."\nSchroeder was grateful for the information presented in the lecture.\n"Denial of marriage is a denial of personhood," Schroeder said. "Now I have new ways to talk to people about this issue."\n-- Contact staff writer Jorie Slodki at jslodki@indiana.edu.