On November 18, 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court legalized same sex marriage in the state. It didn’t take long for Vermonters Bobbi and Sandi Cote-Whitacre, who had already committed to one another in a civil union ceremony in Vermont, to drive to Provincetown, MA, and get married. However, soon after their wedding day, the Executive branch of Massachusetts government denied to honor same sex marriages of couples who were non-Massachusetts residents. Being the fighters that they are, Bobbi and Sandi contacted GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders), and subsequently became the lead plaintiff couple in a case against the State (Cote-Whitacre vs. Dept of Health of Massachusetts). They came to StoryCorps to tell this story, as well as the story of their relationship, which started in 1967. They’re pictured here holding a portrait of themselves from over thirty years ago. At a time when discrimination against gays and lesbians went largely unchallenged, Bobbi and Sandi were giving out copies of this portrait as Christmas presents.