[Magdalen] Pistorius Trial.

[ME Michaud]

In her own words:

*Excerpts of the majority opinion by Chief Justice Marshall:*
(Click here to read the whole decision
<http://www.boston.com/news/daily/18/sjc_gaymarriage_decision.pdf>)

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. “It is an association that
promotes a way of life, not causes; a harmony in living, not political
faiths; a bilateral loyalty, not commercial or social projects.” 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.

It is undoubtedly for these concrete reasons, as well as for its intimately
personal significance, that civil marriage has long been termed a “civil
right.”

Without the right to marry – or more properly, the right to choose to marry
– one is excluded from the full range of human experience and denied full
protection of the laws for one’s “avowed commitment to an intimate and
lasting human relationship.” Because civil marriage is central to the lives
of individuals and the welfare of the community, our laws assiduously
protect the individual’s right to marry against undue government incursion.

That same-sex couples are willing to embrace marriage’s solemn obligations
of exclusivity, mutual support, and commitment to one another is a
testament to the enduring place of marriage in our laws and in the human
spirit.



On Sat, Sep 13, 2014 at 7:57 AM, ME Michaud <michaudme at gmail.com> wrote:

> Loads of South Africans hereabout, notably Margaret Marshall, former
> Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court
>