As statewide LGBT organizations go, it’s hard to match MassEquality’s storied reputation. Marriage equality in Massachusetts was born of the judiciary ten years ago this month, but in its infancy, MassEquality reared it in a toxic anti-equality national political environment amid efforts at home to amend our state constitution to deny lesbian and gay folks the right to marry. MassEquality spearheaded an effective grassroots campaign apparatus aimed at protecting elected officials and candidates who stood with us and defeating those who did not. The political air cover MassEquality and other LGBT groups provided allowed pro-equality lawmakers to stand up to the conservative coalition bent on stuffing out the early flames of marriage equality.

Given that Massachusetts is celebrating its 10-year anniversary of same-sex marriage, it’s hard to imagine a more fitting Boston Pride headliner than Mary Lambert. (She’ll command the stage at the Festival on City Hall Plaza on Saturday, June 14.) After all, the out artist had a special role in the music industry’s most high-profile wedding this year: a 2014 Grammy Awards performance of “Same Love,” her equal rights hit with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, that culminated in a mass matrimony for three dozen diverse straight and gay couples. From the Massachusetts State House to the prime time stage, what a difference a decade makes!

On May 17, 2004, history was made. Massachusetts became the first state in the country to honor legal same-sex marriages. And when one considers the ripple effect that had—catalyzing greater acceptance that permeated everything from pop culture to politics—it is no exaggeration to say that for gay men and women, America changed forever. And it happened because of “Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health,” the landmark court case argued by GLAD’s Mary Bonauto. Together, seven couples shared their lives with the world in the hopes that they might change it. And a decade later, we revisited each of them to reflect on the case, its impact, how it changed their lives.

Read our interview with Michelle Kosilek here. 1/22/14 Dear LGBT Family, When David Zimmerman graciously offered to let me write an open letter to accompany the article...

Michelle Kosilek is an unlikely advocate for LGBT equality. Convicted for murder and spending time in a designated all-male prison, Kosilek is suing for her right to receive gender reassignment surgery, to allow her physical body to match who she has discovered herself to be: a woman. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts refuses to pay for the medical procedure. Most recently, on January 17, 2014, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals declared in favor of Kosilek’s surgery, stating, “DOC has violated Kosilek’s Eighth Amendment rights.” The state is appealing the verdict.

If Mike Michaud hangs on to his lead in the polls, he could become the nation’s first openly gay person to be elected to...

Fifty years ago this month, on the afternoon of November 22, 1963, Lem Billings had just returned from lunch when he heard the news. He was an advertising executive at Lennen and Newell in New York and as he approached his office building at 380 Madison Avenue, Billings saw immediately that something was wrong. Waves of people rolled out of the building onto the street, some looked confused, others wept. According to David Pitts, author of Jack and Lem: The Untold Story of an Extraordinary Friendship, a face in the crowd approached Billings and said, “I’m so sorry about the president.”

The best mixologists in town. The best holiday drinks. For your best party ever. It is that time of year again! Time for merriment, parties,...

For the first time in years, a troop of Boston mayoral candidates sift city neighborhoods for votes. At T stops and in coffee shops candidates reach for every hand, seeking just enough votes to lift them into the final when the bulky field shrinks to a two-person runoff. It’s hard work. After so many years with the same mayor, Bostonians are not used to choosing from such a large field. For the longest time, it was either the Mayor or the fly in the ointment. And the mayor won, no problem.

He may just be the most influential gay rights pioneer you’ve never heard of Prescott Townsend may be the most influential Boston gay rights pioneer you have never heard of. If so, hang on; before we’re through, Townsend will cross paths with Andre Gide, 1960s hippies, John Waters and his star, Mink Stole. And that’s not counting the army of young men who lived with him on Beacon Hill and in Provincetown, as long as their waist sizes hovered very close to 30-inches.

On October 13, Ribaudo will marry his longtime partner Joe Posa. They’ll celebrate their reception, which after certain hours will be open to the whole community, at Club Café. That’s because their wedding coincides with a second reason to celebrate. October marks the 30th anniversary of Club Café, which has become iconic in New England’s gay scene. For one generation, it has been a community center: a comfortable second home filled with old friends. For another, it’s a party palace: where stepping inside, grabbing your first drink, and scoring your first date has become a veritable rite of passage. And Club Café shows no sign of slowing down.

For some designers, haute couture is what turns their head. But for John Robb, co-owner of Jamaica Plain-based Inseam, the perfect fit, precise cut, and sharp shape of a well-made garment is what really gets his sewing machine’s motor running.