Ding Dong The Bells Are Gonna Chime!

While I won't be getting married in the morning, nor any time in the near future, same-sex couples will be able to legally marry in Connecticut soon, probably as early as next month. In a case resulting from a suit filed by 8 couples against the state Commissioner for Public Health after being denied marriage licences by Madison town clerk, the state supreme court ruled today "In accordance with these state constitutional requirements, same sex couples cannot be denied the freedom to marry."

Many headlines in newspapers around the country and throughout the blogosphere read much like this one from The Boston Globe: "Connecticut Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage." As a friend of mine pointed out,

The Connecticut Supreme Court did not legalize same-sex marriage but rather said that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry because marriage is a fundamental right. Gays and lesbians are a group who have a history of being discriminated against and therefore heightened scrutiny (California went one step further and said strict scrutiny) must be applied to any law which negatively impacts them. The Connecticut Supreme Court based their ruling on equal protection in the Connecticut constitution. Everybody deserves the equal protection of state law.

Essentially the court found that Civil Unions, which Connecticut has had for a couple of years, create a separate and unequal category of citizens.

If you are interested, here are the Supreme Court's decision and the three dissenting opinions:

• SC17716 - Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health
• SC17716 Dissent - Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health
• SC17716 Dissent - Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health
• SC17716 Dissent - Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health

How far we have come in the last 25 years since I returned to Connecticut after college and graduate school in the Midwest. Marriage was the last thing on our minds when the Connecticut Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights worked toward passage of civil rights legislation. In fact, it was the issue of marriage that essentially fractured the organization after the passage of the so-called "gay rights bill." A number of members felt that marriage was the next logical step, while others saw marriage as an institution that had long outlived its purpose. While the Coalition fell apart, with a small remainder limping along, other organizations grew out of the fight for full marriage rights for same-sex couples. It became THE issue for a large number of lbgt activists, and for many conservatives, who used it in attempts to solidify their hold over our society.

This decision is a great stride forward for lbtq folks, but the struggle is not over. There is a question on the ballot this year in Connecticut, one required by the state constitution to be put before the people of the state every 20 years:

Shall there be a Constitutional Convention to amend or revise the Constitution of the State?

There is also the issue of clergy acting as agents of the state for conducting civil marriage. Not to mention the ongoing struggle in our religious institutions regarding the blessing of those marriages.

A lot of education, advocacy, and hard work remains, but for today, let us celebrate a tremendous step forward.

Peace,
Jeffri