And then, 5/17/04

[mattlistener]

The 180 days the SJC gave the legislature to make Massachusetts laws consistent with its ruling on gay marriage will expire on 5/17/04. Legislators wanted to take the politically safer route of instituting some form of civil unions; the SJC replied that history has shown that "separate but equal" solutions merely preserve inequality, and they would not be allowed in Mass.

5/17/04 also happens to be the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board, the unanimous US Supreme Court decision that desegregated schools... the biggest court decision on the "separate but equal" concept in living memory. That will make for some good news stories!