I’m not personally all that interested in marriage. However, the legal protections for spouses and children are unparalleled. Civil unions can never replicate all the protections and legal rights that marriage guarantees. This is especially true when federal law doesn’t recognize any civil unions or marriages between same sex couples. Federal law provides many marital benefits that state law cannot (e.g. Social Security). In addition, the right to marry is important symbolically, as it acknowledges that same-sex relationships deserve the same legal protections as traditional straight couples.
So it’s a big deal whenever a state recognizes the right of same-sex couples to marry. And Connecticut has just done that.
Gay Marriage is Ruled Legal in CT (NYTimes)
Text of CT Supreme Court decision
Pretty soon New England is going to be a gay mecca. Gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, gay civil unions are legal in Vermont and New Hampshire, and Maine has legal domestic partnerships that provide many of the same rights as civil unions. (see NYTimes article link above)
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