Breaking News: Connecticut Court Creates Same-Sex Marriage
Today the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the marriage law of that state was unconstitutional and must be redefined to include same-sex couples. The decision ends with a direction to the trial court to issue an injunction against the Department of Public Health, which means that same-sex marriages will begin taking place in that state as soon as the trial court acts.
In Kerrigan & Mock v. Dept. of Public Health, eight gay couples had sued on the grounds that the state's 2005 civil unions law did not provide equal protection under its constitution. The trial court had ruled that the essential equivalence between the state's civil union status and marriage meant there was no constitutional deprivation in not allowing same-sex couples to marry, according to Bill Duncan of the Marriage Law Foundation.
The Supreme Court disagreed, holding that by creating civil unions, the legislature had relegated same-sex couples to "an inferior status in essence, declaring them to be unworthy of the institution of marriage." The majority believed civil unions are not equal because marriage "is an institution of transcendent historical, cultural and social significance."
One dissenting judge argued that the majority opinion was premised on a presumption "that the essence of marriage is a loving, committed relationship between two adults" but the actual purpose "is to privilege and regulate procreative conduct." The dissent also said "a couple that is incapable of engaging in the type of sexual conduct that can result in children is not similarly situated to a couple that is capable of engaging in such conduct."
This is indeed a disappointing loss, but a reminder that civil unions or domestic partnerships can be easily morphed into marriage by the courts.
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