Judge opens door for gay marriage in Connecticut

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) -- A judge cleared the way Wednesday for gay marriage in Connecticut, a victory for advocates stung by California's referendum that banned same-sex unions in that state.

Gay couples walk together to Superior Court in New Haven, Connecticut, on Wednesday.

Some couples planned to celebrate by immediately marching to New Haven City Hall to get marriage licenses. At least one ceremony was scheduled Wednesday morning on the New Haven green.

Some of the eight couples who successfully challenged a state law prohibiting gay marriages last month wept as Judge Jonathan Silbert entered his judgment, based on a state Supreme Court ruling.

The judge's order marks "the end of a very long journey toward equality," said their attorney, Bennett Klein.

"Each of the plaintiffs asked me to convey to the court how proud they are to be citizens of this state," Klein said.

"It's a great day for Connecticut," plaintiff Robin Levine-Ritterman said.

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on October 10 that same-sex couples have the right to wed rather than accept a civil union law designed to give them the same rights as married couples.

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Peg Oliveira, 36, a yoga teacher and educational consultant, and Jennifer Vickery, a 44-year-old lawyer, planned to wed on the New Haven green Wednesday. They have a 3-month-old baby.

"We're thrilled and we don't want to wait one minute," Oliveira said earlier. "I want to show the folks who worked so hard to make this possible that we are very grateful and we don't want to wait any longer to be able to say the words 'We are married."'

Manchester Town Clerk Joseph Camposeo, president of the Connecticut Town Clerks Association, said clerks were advised by e-mail shortly after 9:30 a.m. they could start issuing the licenses.

"The feedback I'm getting from other clerks is that we're all at the ready, but no one really has a sense yet of what kind of volume we're going to get," he said.

According to the state public health department, 2,032 civil union licenses were issued in Connecticut between October 2005 and July 2008.

The health department had new marriage applications printed that reflect the change. Instead of putting one name under "bride" and the other under "groom," couples will see two boxes marked "bride/groom/spouse."

Only Connecticut and Massachusetts have legalized gay marriage. The unions were legal in California until a statewide referendum to ban gay marriage narrowly passed last week. The vote has sparked protests and several lawsuits asking that state's Supreme Court to overturn the prohibition.

Constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage also passed last week in Arizona and Florida, and Arkansas voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents.

However, Connecticut voters last week rejected the idea of a constitutional convention to amend the state's constitution, a major blow to opponents of same-sex marriage.

The Family Institute of Connecticut, a political action group that opposes gay marriage, condemned the high court's decision as undemocratic. Peter Wolfgang, the group's executive director, acknowledged banning gay marriage in Connecticut would be difficult but vowed not to give up.

"Unlike California, we did not have a remedy," Wolfgang said. "It must be overturned with patience, determination and fortitude."

The state's 2005 civil union law will remain on the books, at least for now. Same-sex couples can continue to enter civil unions, which give them the same legal rights and privileges in Connecticut as married couples without the status of being married.

State Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the legislature's Judiciary Committee, said lawmakers will have to decide the fate of the civil union law.

"We'll definitely be taking this up," he said. The new legislative session opens in January.