| − | In '''''Goodridge v. Department of Public Health''''', 440 Mass. 309 (2003), the [[Massachusetts]] Supreme Court declared it to be unconstitutional for the legislature not to grant same-sex [[marriage]] licenses. The Court, in an extraordinary order, gave the [[Massachusetts]] legislature 180 days to pass a law in favor of same-sex [[marriage]].
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| − | The decision split 4-3, with the swing vote relying on the state [[Equal Rights Amendment]]. Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, a native of [[South Africa]], cited a [[Canadian]] court in her opinion. One writer for the journal ''Legal Affairs'' described Marshall as "an advocate of mining the work of foreign courts,"<ref>Emily Bazelon, "A Bold Stroke," ''Legal Affairs'' and Harvard law, May-June 2004.</ref> professor Martha Minow, who has long known Justice Marshall, said that ''Goodridge'' "is like a South Africa decision."
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