Connecticut Gay Marriage ruling in effect; but first marriages weeks away

By 365gay Newscenter Staff

(Hartford, Connecticut) Connecticut’s Supreme Court on Tuesday officially published its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, but it will likely be several weeks before the first weddings can take place.

Publication of the ruling sends the case back down to the lower court where it began. There, a judge will issue a directive to the state Department of Public Health and town clerks, ordering them to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples who request them.

The formality means the first weddings will likely not take place before November 10, but with the Veterans Day holiday on Nov. 11, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders - the Boston-based legal group that won the Supreme Court ruling - said Tuesday that it is more likely the marriages will not begin until Nov. 12 or 13.

Last Friday, the Department of Public Health told town clerks that the state’s marriage licenses have been revised and will be sent out this week.

On Oct. 10, Connecticut’s Supreme Court ruled that gay couples have the right to marry, making the state the third behind Massachusetts and California to legalize such unions through the courts.

The 4-3 ruling is the first time that a state which had willingly offered an alternative to marriage was told by a court that civil unions aren’t enough to protect the rights of gay couples. Connecticut was the first state to voluntarily pass laws to affirm civil unions.

Justice Richard N. Palmer, writing for the majority, said that offering civil unions but denying marriage to same-sex couples creates separate standards.

“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,” Palmer wrote.

The lawsuit began in 2004, after eight same-sex couples were denied marriage licenses and sued, saying their constitutional rights to equal protection and due process were violated.

It is not known how many of the 1,700 gay and lesbian couples who had civil unions over the last three years will take advantage of the new marriage law.

Some gay and lesbian couples are anxiously awaiting the moment they can wed, hoping the process can be sped up. Others are content to let the process work its way to completion.

One couple, Jeffrey Busch and Stephen Davis, plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said they are anxious to marry, but prepared to wait.

“We’ve waited for almost 20 years,” Busch told the Stamford Advocate. “We can wait a little bit longer to do it right.”

In a separate move, clergy and lay delegates of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut have voted to ask the bishop to allow same-sex church weddings.

Bishop Andrew D. Smith said he would study the issue. If he agrees, it would further acerbate the feud between conservatives and liberals in the worldwide Anglican faith.

Despite the high court ruling, gay marriage foes are pressing for a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision.

Every 20 years, voters can force a convention during which delegates can rewrite the entire constitution. By coincidence, it’s on the ballot next Tuesday. The the Family Institute of Connecticut is rallying support for Constitutional Convention.

“This is our one opportunity for the people to have a voice, for the people to be heard, for them to decide whether marriage will be protected as between a man and a woman,” said Peter Wolfgang, executive director of the institute, said earlier this month.

Nevertheless, a poll released after the Supreme Court made its ruling found that 53 percent of registered voters said they agreed with the ruling while 42 percent disagreed.