Nov 11, 2008 8:42 pm US/Eastern
Gay Marriage Officially Legal In Connecticut
Nutmeg State Joins Massachusetts As Only 2 In Nation To Allow Same-Sex Partners To Wed
COLCHESTER, Conn. (CBS) ―
Starting Wednesday, it's official. Same-sex couples in Connecticut will be legally allowed to tie the knot.
And some have been waiting decades for this reality. CBS station WCBS-TV in New York City spoke with one couple who helped turn the law around.
Janet Peck and Carol Conklin can get married Wednesday if they'd like. Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Connecticut.
"We've been dreaming of getting married for 33 years," Peck said.
The couple has been in a four-year legal fight to have the law reversed. The courts agreed with them.
"My parents always said when you grow up you'll find the person you'll get married to and Janet is that person for me," Conklin said.
There will be no appeal of the court's decision. In fact, even opponents of same-sex marriage contend reversing the decision will not be easy.
"It will be a long road," said Peter Wolfgang, who runs the Family Institute of Connecticut. "It won't happen overnight."
Opponents contend marriage should be between a man and a woman.
"Had our opponents gone through the legislature, or, even more, through a vote of the people they could say with some justification, okay, this battle is over now. The people of Connecticut accept this," Wolfgang said. "But when you have four judges undemocratically imposing it on the state of Connecticut there's no way they can legitimately say that the people of Connecticut accept same-sex marriage."
To reverse the court decision, it would take approval by three-fourths of the legislature and then a voter referendum, which appears unlikely.
"She's the love of my life," Peck said.
Connecticut joins Massachusetts as the only two states that allow same-sex couples to marry.
California voters approved a ban on gay marriage at the polls last week, overturning the state Supreme Court ruling last spring that allowed 18,000 same-sex couples to marry.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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