Connecticut Marriage Equality Bill is Dead This Year
It is no surprise to me that the marriage equality bill did not get a full vote in the General Assembly. So, it will be another year... or two, before this comes up again. It is disappointing, but, it doesn’t have to ruin everything. In fact, for me, it doesn’t. I’m looking forward to a great weekend.
Kent is away in Washington, D.C. until Wednesday. I hate when he goes away over the weekend. But weather will be very nice and should get some outdoor time also.
Below is the letter from Love Makes A Family.
Dear Bill,
It is with mixed emotions that I write to tell you that the legislative sponsors of the marriage equality bill have just announced that our bill will not get a full vote in the General Assembly this session.
We are disappointed that after coming so far, we did not quite have the votes we needed in the House to advance the bill this session.
However, we can’t help but feel encouraged by the significant progress we have made in the two years since the civil union law passed, progress that was only possible because of strong grassroots action by people like you.
Constituent house meetings with legislators, participation in our Lobby Day, letters and op-eds to your local newspapers, door-to-door canvassing, phone calls, e-mails…all of these things made a difference in changing the hearts and minds of legislators. And, according to recent polls, there is tremendous momentum in moving public opinion here in Connecticut.
But momentum is not inevitability and it is imperative that we continue to be vocal and be visible. We still must win those remaining votes in the legislature, as well as convince Governor Rell that treating all Connecticut families fairly is the right thing to do.
While the marriage equality bill won’t go forward, the gender identity/expression bill is still alive and getting strong votes of support as it moves through committee. We will be sending an alert out soon and encourage you to contact your legislators.
Finally, I want to make sure you all know that the Connecticut Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Monday in the state’s marriage lawsuit, Kerrigan & Mock v. the CT Department of Public Health. CT-N will be televising and web casting live beginning at 10am and GLAD, the lead counsel on the case, will be reporting on the proceedings live from the courthouse, on their new blog, blog.glad.org. Visit www.glad.org for all the information on this case.
Once again, I want thank you for your support of Love Makes a Family and of marriage equality. We look forward to our next historic steps together.
Sincerely,
Anne Stanback
Executive Director
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