The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; tocarry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation togeneration: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve achance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

President Barack Obama, Inaugural Address

In his inauguration speech, President Barack Obama called on the nation to live upto its ideals by recognizing that all of its people are equal and should be free topursue their personal happiness – without facing discrimination and being treatedas second-class citizens. When it comes to the issue of marriage rights for gay andlesbian Americans, the voters of Massachusetts agree.Five years after the first marriage licenses were issued to same-sex couples inMassachusetts, a large majority of the state’s voters believe that marriage equalityhas been good for the state. A recent statewide poll of voters in Massachusettsfound that support for marriage equality has increased 10 percentage points since2005. Moreover, 70 percent of voters believe that married gay and lesbian couplesin Massachusetts should have equal access to protections and benefits provided toother married couples by the federal government, such as Social Security survivorbenefits.Massachusetts voters believe that allowing gay and lesbian couples to obtain statemarriage licenses and enjoy the rights and responsibilities of civil marriage hasbenefited society as whole. According to the survey, voters believe that the statehas benefited from marriage equality because:



Massachusetts is living up to its values of

equality

and

fairness



Marriage is an important foundation of a

healthy

society



More people are making long-term

commitments

and taking

responsibility

for each other.



More couples are building families and raising children, which promotes the

common good



Children raised by gay and lesbian couples have the

same

legalprotections

as other children.In the only state where marriage equality has been a reality for a significant periodof time, most people believe that society is stronger. Marriage equality promotessociety’s most fundamental values – equality, fairness, responsibility andcommitment – and allows more people to pursue their full measure of happiness.