Same-sex Married Couple
After months of legal battles, the gay and lesbian couples in the state of Connecticut have won the war – the Supreme Court of Connecticut has ruled that they do have the right to get married.
Taking Massachusetts and California as precedents, eight same-sex couples have asked for the right to say “I do” in Connecticut as well. This sentence only comes to recognize what the American constitution stated in the first place: the right of citizens to be treated equally when they apply for marriage license, not depending on their sexual orientation.
The court said it was only the right decision, as ruling against it would have meant applying different set of rules to gay people and to all the other.
But things are not as bright as they may seem; gay and lesbian couples in Connecticut may have the right to get married, but The Defense of Marriage Act (1996), does not allow the federal recognition of their union, and does not give them the same treatment when it comes to Social Security, taxes and immigration issues.
Ever since 2005, civil unions have been allowed in Connecticut, but also in Vermont, New Jersey and New Hampshire; but Connecticut has now taken a step forward and legally allow same-sex marriages.
Eight couples have sued the state for same marriage rights as all the others, and the suit was called Kerrigan and Mock v. the Connecticut Department of Public Health, after the couple which was most strongly involved in this initiative.
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This post was written by Dana Ciucalau on October 13, 2008
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