Lead Plaintiff Couple in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health Separate

The lesbian couple whose landmark lawsuit helped Massachusetts become the only state in America where same-sex couples can marry legally have split up, a spokeswoman said on Friday. Julie and Hillary Goodridge and six other gay and lesbian couples sued Massachusetts for the right to marry and won when the state's highest court ruled narrowly for them in 2003. Their suit helped spark a nationwide debate on gay marriage.

Read the Reuters story (last visited July 23, 2006 bgf)