Gay Marriage Is Ruled Legal in Connecticut

A sharply divided Connecticut Supreme Court struck down the state’s civil union law
on Friday and ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.
Connecticut thus joins Massachusetts and California as the only states to have legalized gay marriages.

“Like these once prevalent views, our conventional understanding of marriage
must yield to a more contemporary appreciation of the rights entitled to constitutional protection,”
Justice Richard N. Palmer wrote for the majority in a 4-to-3 decision
that explored the nature of homosexual identity, the history of societal views toward homosexuality
and the limits of gay political power compared with that of blacks and women.

“Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles
leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same-sex partner
of their choice,” Justice Palmer declared.
“To decide otherwise would require us to apply one set of constitutional principles
to gay persons and another to all others.”

The ruling was groundbreaking in various respects.
sIn addition to establishing Connecticut as the third state to sanction same-sex marriage,
it was the first state high court ruling to hold that civil union statutes specifically violated
the equal protection clause of a state constitution.
The Massachusetts high court held in 2004 that same-sex marriages were legal,
while California’s court decision in May related to domestic partnerships
and not the more broadly defined civil unions.



The Connecticut decision, which elicited strong dissenting opinions from three justices,
also opened the door to marriage a bit wider for gay couples in New York,
where state laws do not provide for same-sex marriages or civil unions,
although Gov. David A. Paterson recently issued an executive order requiring government agencies
to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

(NYTimes)