NORTHAMPTON — For Gina and Heidi Nortonsmith of Northampton, one of the original seven same-sex couples in Massachusetts who sued for the right to marry in 2001 — and won when Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage in 2004 — the signing of the Respect For Marriage Act on Tuesday at the White House was another watershed moment.

Invited to join President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in addressing the thousands of people gathered on the South Lawn of the White House, Heidi Nortonsmith shared their story and their sense of accomplishment.

“It takes the efforts of many to bend the arc of history towards justice,” she told the crowd, paraphrasing Martin Luther King Jr. “There are so many places where people in our community are under attack. The work will continue, but look at how far we’ve come.”

Gina Nortonsmith recalled their initial fight to have their marriage recognized for the sake of their children, sons Avery and Quinn.

“To guarantee that if something were to happen to Heidi, our children wouldn’t be taken away — we realized to access the protections our family needed, we had to sue the state,” she told the crowd. “The day the court validated our love was equal, we got married,” becoming the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in the city of Northampton. 

Their remarks drew praise from Harris, who spoke next following the couple’s speech.

“Let me start by thanking Heidi and Gina for your courage and your leadership and your devotion to our country,” Harris said as she began her speech.

The couple also received a shout-out from Biden when he gave remarks on the progress the country has made to recognize both interracial and same-sex marriages.

“Today we celebrate our progress,” he said. “From Hawaii, the first state to declare that denying marriage of same-sex couples was unconstitutional, to Massachusetts, the first state to legalize marriage equality for couples like Gina and Heidi, who you just heard from, to all the who worked to block or overturn state bans.”

The Respect for Marriage Act, passed with bipartisan support in Congress, effectively repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, a law passed in 1996 that barred federal recognition of same-sex marriages. The 2015 Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges had essentially guaranteed that same-sex couples across the country had the right to marry in spite of DOMA, but concerns following the current Supreme Court striking down long-held abortion rights by overturning Roe v. Wade had left the many in the LGBTQ community wondering if same-sex marriage was next.

The new law is intended to safeguard gay marriages if the Supreme Court ever reverses Obergefell v. Hodges. The law does not require states to allow same-sex marriages, but does mandate that they recognize them if legally performed elsewhere.

A whirlwind excursion

The couple had received an invitation from the White House on Sunday, Dec. 11, asking if they could appear in person to speak at the signing of the act, which gives additional federal protections to same-sex and interracial marriages in the United Sates.

What followed was a whirlwind several days as the couple hopped on a train to Washington, D.C. and received a warm welcome at the White House, getting a tour of the building and getting to chat with Biden and Harris and meeting other top-ranking officials including Pelosi, Schumer, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“We ended up having quite a long time to just hang out, particularly with President Biden,” Heidi said in an interview after returning to Northampton. “He is very chatty and apparently things often run a little late, when he has an opportunity to talk to people.”

She described the president’s personality as warm and connecting, and she spoke with him about the work she does running the Northampton Survival Center, which he told her was doing “God’s work.” She also took the opportunity to thank him for his advocacy for LGBTQ rights and people struggling with economic and equity issues across the country.

Her recognition of his help “seemed to mean as much to him as any official declaration,” she said.

The Nortonsmiths had told friends in Northampton that they were traveling to D.C. for the event, but had to keep the fact that they would be speaking to the crowd a secret. As they traveled through the doors of the West Wing, their names were announced over booming speakers, an effect known among staffers as “The Voice of God.”

“I think when that “Voice of God” announced us, there was a collective gasp from people watching,” Heidi said. “It felt surreal to be up there in that way.”

J.M. Sorrell, a justice of the peace in Northampton who has officiated hundreds of same-sex marriages since they became legalized in Massachusetts, said she was moved to tears by Gina and Heidi’s appearance at the event. To Sorrell, their appearance symbolized the culmination of decades of work to ensure marriage equality across the country.

“That the language in 26 years has changed from [marriage] being something to defend against lesbians and gay men, to being something to respect, that it’s for us, I just think is incredible,” she said. “You have to be old enough to understand that trajectory.”

Sorrell remembers officiating at marriage for many out-of-state couples when Massachusetts was one of the only states where it was legal, noting that the numbers dropped off when Obergefell v. Hodges was decided.

She says she hopes it stays that way and the Supreme Court leaves the Obergefell decision alone, but even if it doesn’t, the congressional act will keep marriages, and all the benefits that come with it, legal nationwide.

“I may or may not get more business from out of state, depending on what happens with the Supreme Court,” she said. “But from my perspective, it’s a big deal because no matter where couples come to … they will always be recognized.”

Local politicians took to social media to express their pride at the couple’s presence at the signing, including state Sen. Jo Comerford.

Comerford told the Gazette that Gina and Heidi’s fight to have their marriage recognized was an inspiration to LGBTQ people across the country, including herself and her wife, Ann.

“In our world, they are deeply respected for their service and sacrifice,” Comerford said. “They are understood to be groundbreakers for so many people, including my wife and I.”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.

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