Same Sex Marriage Collection

May 17, 2004 was an incredible day for the Town of Provincetown.  A spontaneous gathering of spectators and well wishers had formed before our doors even opened at 8:00 am – ultimately growing to over 1,000 people who stayed throughout the day to cheer and celebrate the 154 couples who filed their marriage intentions on that day – all of whom were same sex couples, as we had no opposite sex couples filing marriage intentions that day.  Applause and cheers rocked Town Hall as each couple exited the building.  Banners, music, flowers, applause and the glare of media greeted them as they descended the steps of Town Hall.  Fifty-four volunteers from the community were on hand to help guide the one hundred and fifty four couples that choose to file their marriage intentions on May 17th.  Thanks to these wonderful volunteers, the Town Clerk’s office was able to process all of the intention filings with no waiting and each couple was treated with care and enthusiasm.  By the end of 2004, 899 same sex couples and 25 opposite sex couples filed their marriage intentions in Provincetown (a dramatic increase when compared to 2003, before the advent of same sex marriage, when the Town Clerk’s Office issued a total of 19 – for the entire year).

In the years following 2004 marriage filings continued to be numerous in the Town Clerk’s Office, averaging 500 a year or more with same sex couples providing roughly 90% of that total.  In 2008 the State Legislature struck down the 1913 law that required out of state same sex couples to be either residents of Massachusetts or intend to reside in the sate after marriage, thereby creating true equality for all couples – same sex and opposite sex – wishing to marry here in Massachusetts.