04/23/2009
Connecticut Lawmakers Codify Supreme Court Marriage Decision
The Connecticut legislature voted to update the state's marriage laws to conform to the Supreme Court ruling which legalized same-sex marriage in the state:
"A spokesman for Gov. M. Jodi Rell said she will sign the bill, which
passed 28-7 in the Senate and 100-44 in the House of Representatives,
into law. While Rell, a Republican, signed the state's 2005 civil
unions law, she has said she believes that marriage should be between a
man and a woman. The bill comes six months after the State
Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that same-sex couples have the right to wed in
Connecticut, rather than accept the civil union law designed to give
them the same rights as married couples."
The bill was amended to assuage religious institutions:
"Lawmakers endorsed an amendment that allows religious organizations, associations and societies to effectively opt out of the requirements of the law. That means that a group such as the Knights of Columbus would not be required to rent out its function halls for same-sex wedding receptions. Nor would a Catholic priest be obligated to preside over such a union. But both the House and Senate emphatically rejected expanding that circle of exemptions to include individuals and businesses such as florists and justices of the peace. To do so, they said, would be akin to enshrining discrimination in state statute."
Posted 9:16 AM EST by Andy Towle in Connecticut, Gay Marriage, News | Permalink
Like it?
Subscribe to FREE Towleroad daily headlines with our RSS feed!
RECENT STORIES:
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
Whew! Despite a well-financed campaign by right wing bigots - robocalls, full page ads in state newspapers, zippy website - we made it.
Posted by: KenCT | Apr 23, 2009 9:56:18 AM
I'm tired of accommodating religions. If they want tax exempt status they should obey all our state laws and not discriminate.
Why do we live in this hyper-religious country?
Posted by: Kevinvt | Apr 23, 2009 10:02:31 AM
What's funny is even with the religious clause, if something is available to the public and receives taxpayer dollars in funding, it is unconstitutional to make a law denying that service or product based on protected status. Now, I'm not about to give any money to use services of assholes anyway or maybe its worth the effort just to watch them squirm.
Posted by: Aiden Raccoon | Apr 23, 2009 10:12:28 AM
Re: Governor Rell's agreement to sign the bill:
Very refreshing to see a Governor --a Republican no less-- acting on behalf of the people and not their own personal interests (like Douglas, Schwarzenegger, etc.)
Congratulations Vermont!
Posted by: ichabod | Apr 23, 2009 10:12:45 AM
^^ you mean Connecticut
Posted by: Michael | Apr 23, 2009 10:14:57 AM
Whoops! Good catch, Michael!
How nice to be confused by the current wave of states embracing marriage equality!
Posted by: ichabod | Apr 23, 2009 10:47:57 AM
Personally i cannot see a GLBT couple, wanting to Marry, going to a Church, Synagogue or other religious affiliated environment for their service! that means a KofC for their reception or the Local RC Church for the service! There are plenty of GLBT friendly houses of Worship and Hotels for those - and if you are getting married and you cannot find a Clergy person (Should you want one) contact me! Congratulations to CT and in particular to Michael Lawlor (whom i have met) who has fought for this event for years!!
Posted by: alex in boston | Apr 23, 2009 11:29:45 AM