Julie and Hillary first made headlines when they became one of the seven same-sex couples who filed a lawsuit, Goodridge v. the Massachusetts Dept. of Health, that ultimately led to Massachusetts' 2004 legalization of gay marriage. The two women became the public face of the landmark case and were one of the first to marry on the day same-sex marriages became legal.

The couple announced they were separating in 2006. The divorce case, filed last week in Suffolk Probate and Family Court, is characterized as "not unexpected." While they'll be one of the first same-sex marriages to take the divorce route, why all the press? Couples divorce all the time. After all, these women wanted to marry because they were like any other couple; they are divorcing for the same reason. Because a right has been hard-won does not confer a Responsibility to be Role Models forever. On the contrary, it should ultimately bring some sense of normalcy. And in a sense, perhaps in taking this most ordinary of sad steps, they're doing as much for their cause as ever. We wish both women and their daughter the best of good things.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29000211/">Couple Who Led Gay Marriage Fight To Divorce [MSNBC]
Mass. Couple Who Led Gay Marriage Fight To Divorce [AP]

Related: Weddings/Celebrations; Hillary Goodridge, Julie Goodridge [New York Times]