Massachusetts high court says same-sex civil unions are equivalent to marriage

July 30, 2012

BOSTON, Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a Vermont civil union is the “equivalent of marriage” in Massachusetts. The case involved Todd Elia-Warnken and Richard Elia, a same-sex couple who married in Massachusetts in 2005. In 2009, Elia-Warnken filed for divorce. One year later, Elia claimed that their Massachusetts marriage should be void after he discovered that Elia-Warnken was part of an undissolved civil union in Vermont. Chief justice Roderick Ireland, writing for the court, said that the Vermont civil union was the equivalent of marriage and should be recognized as such in Massachusetts. He ruled that Elia-Warnken and Elia's marriage was void because being involved in a civil-union and a marriage at the same time would violate the state’s polygamy statutes.