Same-Sex Marriage
Lawsuit Heads
to Conn. High Court
 |
| Janet Peck, left, and Carol Conklin lead a group
of plaintiffs into the Connecticut State Supreme court in Hartford,
Conn. |
By AP from
1010wins.com from the Web, May 14, 2007
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) --
Connecticut's civil unions law, the first in the nation passed without court
intervention, is the subject of a potentially precedent-setting case being
argued before the state Supreme Court on Monday.
Eight gay and lesbian couples are suing over the state's refusal to grant them
marriage licenses. They want the court to rule that the state's marriage
law is unconstitutional because it applies only to heterosexual couples, denying
gay couples the financial, social and emotional benefits of marriage.
The state plans to argue that Connecticut's civil unions law, passed in 2005,
gives the couples the equality they seek under state law.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule later this year. If justices agree
with the same-sex couples, they could order the case back to the trial court,
with instructions to rule in favor of the couples. They could also order
the General Assembly to overhaul the current marriage laws.
Attorneys on both sides say a ruling in the couples' favor could have nationwide
implications for states that have adopted or are considering civil union-like
legislation.
Currently, only Massachusetts allows same-sex couples to marry.
Connecticut, Vermont, California, New Jersey, Maine and Washington have laws
allowing either civil unions or domestic partnerships. Hawaii extends
certain spousal rights to same-sex couples and cohabiting heterosexual pairs.
The Connecticut couples, who have been together between 10 and 32 years, say
civil unions are inferior to marriage and violate their rights to equal
protection and due process.
"I think when fair-minded people hear our story, they agree we should have the
right to marry,'' said Janet Peck of Colchester, one of the plaintiffs along
with her partner, Carol Conklin. "Marriage really reflects what Carol and
I have shared for 31 years.''
Anne Stanback, president of the group Love Makes a Family, and a handful of gay
marriage supporters were among the first to arrive at the Supreme Court on
Monday morning. No protesters greeted them outside.
"We got here early because we wanted to make sure we were part of the history,''
Stanback said.
She and her partner of 23 years have not had a civil union because they are
waiting for full marriage rights.
"What is unique here in Connecticut is that we're going into this having civil
unions on the book,'' she said. "So the more unique challenge will be showing
what is the harm when you have the state rights of civil unions but not the full
equality of marriage.''
The hearing also drew gay marriage opponents, including members of the Family
Institute of Connecticut.
"I hesitate to make any predictions, although we hope the court will realize
that something this radical should be left to the people, that something this
disruptive, divisive and controversial should be left to the people to decide
and not handed down from above,'' said Peter Wolfgang, the group's director of
public policy.
Married couples have federal rights related to taxes, Social Security
beneficiary rules, veterans' benefits and other laws that people in civil unions
don't have.
Because civil unions aren't recognized nationwide, other rights, such as the
ability to make medical decisions for an incapacitated partner, disappear when
couples cross state lines.
Their lawsuit was filed in August 2004. A lower court dismissed the claim last
year, saying the couples received the equality they sought when Connecticut
passed a same-sex civil unions law.
The state Department of Public Health and the Madison town clerk's office were
named as defendants in the case after denying marriage licenses to the couples
based on state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's advice.
"Our basic argument is, the trial court correctly recognized that there is a
rational basis for the state to use a different name for the same rights and
benefits accorded same-sex couples,'' Blumenthal said. "The rights and benefits
are identical, whether the union is called a civil union or a marriage.''
A bill is pending in Connecticut's legislature to approve same-sex marriage, but
leaders of the Judiciary Committee say they want to pull it from consideration
this session because they do not believe enough lawmakers would vote to approve
it.
Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who signed the civil unions bill into law in 2005,
has said she would veto a gay marriage bill. Rell has said she believes marriage
is between one man and one woman.
A similar case is pending before California's high court.
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