Civil Marriage Trail

The Civil Marriage Trail is an annual march which advocates for same-sex marriage equality. It was launched in 2003 by Brendan Fay and Jesús Lebrón.

History
Prior to bringing couples to Massachusetts to legally marry on May 17, 2004, the Civil Marriage Trail rallied advocates from New York on the steps of the Massachusetts State House to protest attempts to amend the state's constitution to ban same-sex marriages. We held a 'Pilgrimage of Solidarity' in March and partcipated in Pennsylvania's 1,138 Project, part of that state's SundayOUT Festival. We began in earnest by successfully bringing couples to marry in Canada in February, during Valentine's day weekend.

The Civil Marriage Trail worked to increase public support for our right to legal recognition of our marriages in Canada. We continue to encourage and celebrate our right to marry so close to home. Canada is the fourth country in the world, besides the Netherlands and Belgium and Spain, to recognize full and complete marriage equality for same-sex couples. The organizers of CMT found there to be a cautionary tone surrounding couples decision to travel to Canada and marry. We wanted our community to be uplifted and empowered by this immense step forward for LGBT people. Finally, our relationships were getting the recognition and respect they deserved! In this light, we held an educational forum in September and traveled to Canada this past Valentine weekend (click here to view just some of the national and international media coverage) when U.S. same-sex couples were enthusiastically welcomed by our fellow comrades in Toronto as they expressed the full commitment of their love and were married by Justice Harvey Brownstone. The event was immensely successful and moving as was our 'Pilgrimage of Solidarity' in March on the steps of Massachusetts' State House.