Civil Marriage

Marriage is the unusual combination of a deeply personal vow and a government-sanctioned contract. For many, it is also a solemn religious ceremony. It is both "an intimate, exclusive union" and "one of our community's most rewarding and cherished institutions," the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court said Tuesday. At times, however, deciding who may marry has been the subject of great controversy.

Massachusetts' highest court Tuesday issued the broadest ruling to date on gay marriage, saying that the state's constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to wed. "We declare that barring an individual from the protections, benefits and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution," Chief Justice Margaret Marshall wrote.

The city has asked state lawmakers to enact legislation allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. The Davis City Council passed a resolution last month that has already been sent to the governor. This week, city officials presented the Freedom to Marry resolution to local gay activists. Davis joins five other cities in asking lawmakers to remove sex and gender as requirements for a civil marriage license.

Religion, not romance, drove Alon and Einat Bilu to get married in a quaint little town in the Italian countryside. Although they are Israeli Jews, the couple objected to the only sanctioned wedding rite open to them in their homeland, an Orthodox ceremony in which Einat would be presented to Alon as his rightfully purchased property. So instead of a rabbi, they put themselves in the hands of a travel agent.

Sunday, a groundbreaking law took effect in the Netherlands that gives gay and lesbian couples the same civil marriage rights as the rest of Dutch citizens. What the Netherlands seems to understand that no other nation in the world, including the United States, understands is that access to marriage is just like access to any other public institution. In the U.S.

Re "Compromise That Goes Too Far," April 23. Rabbi Aron B. Tendler rather dangerously cites the will of the majority to support a moral argument against gay marriage. If two-thirds of the California electorate decreed that dog food be served in schools every Monday morning, would he also take that position? What is his position on burning witches or slavery when such was the majority view? Nevertheless, his ostensible attitude (unfortunately disguised by rhetorical overkill) that the Reform movement needs to be more sensitive to the Orthodox merits attention.

From her first day in the marriage business, Yolanda E. Purdy particularly enjoyed the authority of the black robe. "I thought, 'I'm keeping this job,' " she recalled. "This is the only place where they call me 'Your Honor.' " Purdy is neither a judge nor a minister, but one of several people who have volunteered in the last two years to perform civil marriage ceremonies as Los Angeles County searches for ways to save money.

Prompted by Hawaii, which may become the first state to legalize same-sex unions, the California Legislature is debating strongly held perceptions about marriage. The California Assembly has passed a bill, sponsored by William J. "Pete" Knight (R-Palmdale), that would deny recognition of same-gender marriages that might be approved in other states. An emotional debate on what should be the basis of marriage has begun. Should California recognize same-sex marriages?

Total Average Ceremonies Ceremonies Year Performed Per Month 1974 1,687 141 1975 1,493 124 1976 1,328 111 1977 1,204 100 1978 1,100 92 1979 673 56 1980 1,280 107 1981 1,393 116 1982 2,339 195 1983 2,475 206 1984 3,029 252 1985 3,160 263 1986 3,400 283 1987 4,131 344 1988 * 1,849 308 * Through June 30 Source: Orange County Clerk