Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Gays, Like Everyone, Find Marriage a Mixed Blessing

Massachusetts' lessons for California couples

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 15, 2008 6:50 AM CDT

(Newser) – It’s been four years since Massachusetts legalized gay marriage, and there are winners, losers—and everything in between, the New York Times reports. In what one gay married man calls “a mixed bag,” it appears that gays are more likely to rush into marriage, more likely to marry older, and more likely to sign pre-nuptial agreements. Pay attention, California.

Gay marriage in Massachusetts is also bringing new pressures to the single scene. “I know he cares about me,” said one anxious, ring-hungry man. “I just think he doesn’t want to." And while some proclaim they don’t need a “paper for any type of validation,” one married gay called “uncle” for the first time found it brought a "tear to my eye.”

A gay couple engage the expertise of a media advisor. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

A lesbian couple fill out paperwork as they apply for an appointment for a marriage license at the county clerks office at City Hall in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)

LGBT supporters take to the streets with bubbly to celebrate California's Supreme Court ruling that overturned the ban on gay marriages in the state. (AP Photo)

A gay couple talk with a photographer at a special wedding pavilion at the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride Buisness Expo in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

A distributor makes wedding-cake figures that can be customized to come in bride-bride and groom-groom pairs. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Iconic Mass. Gay Couple Splits

Goodridge suit legalized same-sex marriage in state

(NEWSER) - A lesbian activist couple well-respected for leading Massachusetts' gay marriage charge has filed for divorce, the Boston Herald reports. Hillary and Julie Goodridge's landmark lawsuit legalized same-sex marriage in the state six years ago. The couple married a year later—after nearly two decades together—and share custody of their 12-year-old daughter. "They had a great thing going," Hillary's mom says. More»

Maria Shriver: Why I'm a 'Cafeteria Catholic'

'Good standing' Catholic opposes church positions on gays, divorce and choice

(NEWSER) - California First Lady Maria Shriver likes the "compassion and justice of Jesus Christ" advanced by her Catholic religion, but can't abide the church's positions on gays, divorce and a woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion, she reveals in a Washington Post interview. "I'm a cafeteria Catholic," she declares, referring to her habit of following only Catholic teachings she believes in. More»

Mass. Senate Votes to Allow Out-of-State Gays to Wed

Bill shoots down 1913 marriage restriction

(NEWSER) - A 1913 law that blocks out-of-state gay couples from marrying in Massachusetts could soon be history. The state Senate has passed a bill that would repeal the law, which former Gov. Mitt Romney used four years ago to stop gay non-residents from marrying in his state, the Boston Globe reports. Supporters of the bill called the law discriminatory and archaic. More»

Gays Jubilant Over Calif. Ruling

Supporters, foes now await Nov. vote on a constitutional amendment

(NEWSER) - California gays are ecstatic about the state's supreme court striking down a ban on same-sex marriage, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. “I'm feeling the joy all over,” one gay man, and father, said. In Fresno, a gay couple applied for a marriage license from a somewhat bewildered county clerk who wondered about the “exact language” of the decision, the Bee observed. More»

'Poster Couple' for Gay Marriage Divorcing

Robin Tyler and Diane Olson married in California in 2008

(NEWSER) - Two women in California who became what MSNBC calls the "poster couple" for gay marriage are getting a divorce. Robin Tyler and Diane Olson were the first women to legally marry in Southern California in June 2008, right after the state Supreme Court swept away a law banning same-sex marriage, notes NBC Los Angeles . More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Gays, Like Everyone, Find Marriage a Mixed Blessing

Massachusetts' lessons for California couples

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

California • gay marriage • divorce • lesbians • Massachusetts • gays

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Iconic Mass. Gay Couple Splits

Goodridge suit legalized same-sex marriage in state

Maria Shriver: Why I'm a 'Cafeteria Catholic'

'Good standing' Catholic opposes church positions on gays, divorce and choice

Mass. Senate Votes to Allow Out-of-State Gays to Wed

Bill shoots down 1913 marriage restriction

Gays Jubilant Over Calif. Ruling

Supporters, foes now await Nov. vote on a constitutional amendment

'Poster Couple' for Gay Marriage Divorcing

Robin Tyler and Diane Olson married in California in 2008

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?