Issues in Connecticut Around Gay Marriage

Conn. could take lead on gay marriage issue
This is the year, or at least it should be. 2004 had plenty of surprises. The Red Sox won the World Series after a sloppy mid-season. George W. Bush broke the Washington Redskins rule and got a second term in office. So why shouldn’t 2005 be the year that a small, East Coast state fond of Republican governors and hawkish Democratic senators makes American history and, working through the legislature, gives full equal marriage rights to the almost 8,000 gay and lesbian couples who live, work and pay taxes there?

Gays lobby for marriage over civil unions
Only 21 miles from her Canton doorstep, gay couples in neighboring Massachusetts can wed. The psychological impact of living so close to the first state to end marriage discrimination has been huge in Connecticut.

Just two years ago, Horne and Otto would have happily welcomed having their state offer Vermont-style civil unions, which carry all the state-level rights and responsibilities of marriage. But no longer.

And neither is the Connecticut gay-rights group that the couple belongs to. In a gutsy and principled move, Love Makes a Family recently took the very public -- and controversial -- step of telling legislative allies that it wants marriage and won’t support civil union legislation.

Marriage licenses denied to gay couples
Valentine’s Day is a popular day for people to get married. For others it’s become a day to make a political statement. Today some gay and lesbian couples are heading to city hall to try and get marriage licenses.

Reverend George Chen and Reverend Julio Flores have been together for eight years. They own a home together and consider themselves to be married. But in the eyes of the law they are not.

“For us marriage is a sacrament,” says Rev. Flores. “Gender is irrelevant. People marry who they love.”

Connecticut doesn’t recognizes same sex marriage, but Flores and Chen are trying to change that. They want the legal benefit and rights that go along with marriage.

“Medical care, pension, inheritance, all sorts of things are tied up in the marriage law to which same sex couples are denied,” says Rev. Chien.