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Connecticut Homosexual Activists Use Civil Union Law to Push for Homosexual 'Marriage'

By Gudrun Schultz

HARTFORD, Connecticut, November 23, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Homosexual activists in the state of Connecticut have renewed their attempt to gain legal "marriage" recognition by filing an appeal to the state Supreme Court on Wednesday, claiming a ban on gay 'marriage' violates their constitutional rights.

Connecticut granted homosexual couples all the legal rights and privileges of married heterosexual couples last year with the creation of a civil union law, but stopped short of conferring the term "marriage".

Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, the legal organization that succeeded in pushing through gay 'marriage' legislation in the state of Massachusetts over two years ago, filed the brief on behalf of eight gay and lesbian couples who first sued the state over marriage rights in August 2004, Reuters reported yesterday.

A lower court dismissed their case last March. Superior Court Judge Patty Jenkins Pittman said the couples had received equal rights under the civil union legislation.

GLAD attorney Bennett Klein said Tuesday that civil unions do not go far enough in granting equality to homosexual couples, the Hartford Courant reported Wednesday.

"Marriage is not simply a collection of legal rights," Klein said. "It is something that has a unique meaning in our society. The unique social meaning of marriage gives it a very profound personal value for couples that civil unions can never provide."

The brief rides on the civil union legislation to argue for the constitutional necessity of granting homosexual couples marriage recognition, stating, "Given the legislature's enactment of the civil union law…is it constitutional for the legislature to deny marriage while it also creates, only for gay people, a separate legal regime, with a different name, and deems them eligible for all state-based rights available to married spouses?"

In April 2005, Glen Lavy, senior vice president of the Alliance Defense Fund's Marriage Litigation Center, warned that the civil union legislation would not satisfy those seeking full marriage rights for homosexual couples, after Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed the bill.

"The governor believes that she can protect marriage by including a statement that says marriage is only between one man and one woman in legislation that creates civil unions for same-sex couples," Mr. Lavy said. "This is clearly naïve, as proven by media reports of homosexual activist groups that are already stating that they intend to continue to push for full-fledged marriage rights."

The state Supreme Court has not said if it will hear the case. State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is expected to file a legal brief with the court, on the state's behalf, within the next month.

Read Hartford Courant coverage:
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-gaymarriageappeal.artnov22,0,2719635.story?...

See related LifeSiteNews coverage:

Connecticut Judge Rules Against Homosexual Couples' Demand for "Marriage" Title
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jul/06071303.html

Lawyers' Group Warns Civil Unions is Capitulation, not Compromise on Gay "Marriage"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/apr/05042604.html

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