US: Gays take marriage case to Connecticut's top court

Gays take marriage case to Connecticut's top court
By Av HarrisWed Nov 22, 4:47 PM ET
Reuters

Eight gay and lesbian couples seeking the right to marry in Connecticut appealed to the state's highest court on Wednesday, arguing that a ban on gay marriage violates their constitutional rights.

"These couples are all seeking to end discrimination in marriage," said Ben Klein, a senior attorney at Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, which filed the brief challenging a lower court's decision in March.

The eight couples had sued the state in August 2004 after they were denied marriage licenses.

But Superior Court Judge Patty Jenkins Pittman dismissed the case in March, saying the couples already received equal rights when Connecticut last year became the second state after Vermont to legalize same-sex civil unions.

The brief filed on Wednesday claims that Connecticut's refusal to allow same-sex couples to marry violates their constitutional rights to equal protection to all citizens.

"These couples have the same capacity for relationships, many of them are raising children. They need the protections of marriage that other couples need," Klein told Reuters.

It's unclear if the state Supreme Court will hear the case. The state's attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, is expected to file a legal brief with the court on the state's behalf within the next month.

The eight Connecticut couples have been together between nine and 31 years. Combined, they are raising a total 14 children, according to the legal brief.

Same-sex marriage has been dividing Americans at least since 2003, when Massachusetts' highest court ruled it was unconstitutional to ban gay marriage, leading to the country's first same-sex marriages in May 2004.

Seven U.S. states voted in this month's mid-term elections to limit marriage to a man and a woman in ballot initiatives, effectively banning gay marriage.

Last month, New Jersey's Supreme Court guaranteed gay couples the same rights as married heterosexuals but left it to lawmakers to decide what to call the unions.

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