Connecticut Legalizes Gay Marriage

By AlterNet Staff, AlterNet
Posted on October 10, 2008, Printed on November 24, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/www.alternet.org/102473/

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled today to overturn the state's ban on gay marriage. The 4-3 decision makes Connecticut the third state to legalize same-sex unions.

In his majority opinion, Justice Richard N. Palmer wrote that the court found that the "segregation of heterosexual and homosexual couples into separate institutions constitutes a cognizable harm," in light of "the history of pernicious discrimination faced by gay men and lesbians, and because the institution of marriage carries with it a status and significance that the newly created classification of civil unions does not embody."

The court also found that "the state had failed to provide sufficient justification for excluding same-sex couples from the institution of marriage."

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