Same-sex marriage in Connecticut has been legally recognized since November 12, 2008, following a state court decision that found the state's civil unions failed to provide same-sex couples with rights and privileges equivalent to those of

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

was the second U.S. state to legalize

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, after neighboring

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

Civil unions

The state enacted a civil union law in 2005 that provided same-sex couples with the same rights and responsibilities under state law as

, while also explicitly defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Connecticut became the second state in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, following

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

, to adopt civil unions, and the first to do so without judicial intervention. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives on April 13 in a 85–63 vote and by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on April 20 in a 26–8 vote. Governor

Jodi Rell Mary Carolyn "Jodi" Rell (née Reavis; born June 16, 1946) is an American former Republican politician and the 87th governor of Connecticut from 2004 until 2011. Rell also served as the state's 105th lieutenant governor of Connecticut. Rell was ...

signed the bill into law later the same day, and it went into effect on October 1, 2005. Prior to the passage of the civil union legislation, Connecticut had recognized same-sex relationships solely for the purpose of providing benefits to same-sex partners of state employees. Following the Supreme Court of Connecticut's October 2008 ruling which found that civil unions failed to provide same-sex couples with the rights and responsibilities of marriage, all existing civil unions were automatically transformed into marriages on October 1, 2010.

Same-sex marriage

Statute

On January 31, 2007, State Senator Andrew J. McDonald and State Representative Michael Lawlor, co-chairpersons of the Judiciary Committee, announced the introduction of a bill that would give same-sex couples full marriage rights in the state of Connecticut. The bill, ''HB 7395'', passed the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 27–15 on April 12, 2007. Governor

said she would

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

any same-sex marriage legislation. The bill was never submitted to the full House or Senate prior to the adjournment of the 2007 legislative session. On April 22, 2009, Connecticut legislators, both in the House (by a 100–44 vote) and in the Senate (by a 28–7 vote), agreed to replace all statutory references to marriage with gender-neutral language. Governor Jodi Rell, a Republican, signed the law on April 23. The definition of marriage in Connecticut is now the following: On October 1, 2010, civil unions ceased to be performed, and existing civil unions were automatically converted into marriages. Before that date, couples in existing Connecticut civil unions could convert them to marriages voluntarily. Same-sex marriages, civil unions and domestic partnerships from other jurisdictions are legally treated as marriages in Connecticut.

Lawsuits

''Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health''

In August 2004,

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is a non-profit legal rights organization in the United States. The organization works to end discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression. The organization ...

(GLAD) representing eight same-sex couples from Connecticut filed a

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...

in state court, challenging what they described as the state's discriminatory exclusion of same-sex couples from the right to marry. The couples, seven of whom had been denied

marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdiction ...

s in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, sued the Connecticut Department of Public Health and the Madison registrar of vital statistics, Dorothy Dean. They argued that this

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of Racial discrimination, r ...

violated the equality and liberty provisions of the Constitution of Connecticut and were supported by the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union. The case was opposed by the

Family Institute of Connecticut The Family Institute of Connecticut is an interdenominational, conservative 501(c)(3) non-profit advocacy organization founded in 1989. Its stated goal is to encourage and strengthen the family as the foundation of society and to promote Judeo-Chr ...

, which was denied intervenor status in the case. On July 12, 2006, a Superior Court judge ruled against the plaintiffs, finding that: The judge concluded that denying same-sex couples the right to marry did not violate the Connecticut Constitution. The Supreme Court of Connecticut heard an

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

by the plaintiffs in ''

Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health ''Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health'', 289 Conn. 135, 957 A.2d 407, is a 2008 decision by the Connecticut Supreme Court holding that allowing same-sex couples to form same-sex unions but not marriages violates the Connecticut Constitution. ...

'' on May 14, 2007. On October 10, 2008, the court released an opinion guaranteeing marriage rights to same-sex couples. The court ruled 4–3 that denying same-sex couples the right to marry violated the equality and liberty provisions of the Constitution of Connecticut. The court also held that it would be unconstitutional to relegate same-sex couples to a status less than full marriage by enacting legislation treating same-sex unions as civil unions rather than marriage: On November 12, 2008, the first marriage licenses were issued to same-sex couples in Connecticut. Among the first couples to obtain marriage licenses were plaintiffs in the ''Kerrigan'' case, Robin and Barbara Levine-Ritterman in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, and Elizabeth Kerrigan and Joanne Mock-Kerrigan in West Hartford. The court decision made Connecticut the third U.S. state to recognize same-sex marriage, but by the time the first same-sex marriages were solemnized in Connecticut,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

voters had approved a same-sex marriage ban by

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

. Governor Rell reacted to the ruling by issuing the statement: "The Supreme Court has spoken. I do not believe their voice reflects the majority of the people of Connecticut. However, I am also firmly convinced that attempts to reverse this decision - either legislatively or by amending the state Constitution - will not meet with success." State Senator Donald E. Williams Jr. called it a "civil rights victory". Before the court issued its decision, a coalition of groups that included such opponents of same-sex marriage as the state's

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

bishops and the Family Institute of Connecticut supported a November referendum on a proposal to convene a constitutional convention. On November 4, 2008, voters opposed calling a constitution convention by a 2 to 1 margin.

''Mueller v. Tepler''

On July 16, 2014, the Connecticut Supreme Court, reversing judgments in lower courts, ruled unanimously that a same-sex couple in a relationship established before the state afforded legal recognition to their relationship has the same rights as other married couples. In the case of ''Mueller v. Tepler'', it allowed a woman to pursue a medical practice claim for the loss of income and companionship based on the care her female partner received between 2001 and 2004.

Native American nations

Same-sex marriage has been legal on the reservation of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe since April 29, 2010. The Tribal Code states that "two persons may be joined in marriage" provided the parties are of

marriageable age Marriageable age (or marriage age) is the general age, as a legal age or as the minimum age subject to parental, religious or other forms of social approval, at which a person is legitimately allowed for marriage. Age and other prerequisites t ...

and meet all the legal requirements to marry. Marriages entered into outside the tribe's jurisdiction are valid if they are valid in the jurisdiction where they were entered into. Marriages performed under native Pequot custom, known as (), are also recognized on the reservation.

Demographics and marriage statistics

Data from the

2000 U.S. census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

showed that 7,386 same-sex couples were living in Connecticut. By 2005, this had increased to 10,174 couples, likely attributed to same-sex couples' growing willingness to disclose their partnerships on government surveys. Same-sex couples lived in all counties of the state, and constituted 1.1% of coupled households and 0.6% of all households in the state. Most couples lived in Hartford, Fairfield and

counties, but the counties with the highest percentage of same-sex couples were Litchfield (0.60% of all county households) and Hartford (0.59%). Same-sex partners in Connecticut were on average younger than opposite-sex partners, and more likely to be employed. In addition, the median household income of same-sex couples was higher than different-sex couples, but same-sex couples were far less likely to own a home than opposite-sex partners. 19% of same-sex couples in Connecticut were raising children under the age of 18, with an estimated 3,140 children living in households headed by same-sex couples in 2005. From 2009 to 2019, 12,704 same-sex marriages were performed in the state of Connecticut: 543 in 2008, 2,706 in 2009, 1,791 in 2010, 1,262 in 2011, 668 in 2012, 1,356 in 2013, 1,057 in 2014, 689 in 2015, 704 in 2016, 672 in 2017, 639 in 2018, and 617 in 2019. The Connecticut Department of Public Health has included the towns and counties of occurrence for same-sex marriages in their annual vital statistics report since 2016, as shown below:

Public opinion

{, class="wikitable" , +style="font-size:100%" , Public opinion for same-sex marriage in Connecticut , - ! style="width:190px;", Poll source ! style="width:200px;", Date(s)
administered ! class=small , Sample
size ! Margin of
error ! style="width:100px;", % support ! style="width:100px;", % opposition ! style="width:40px;", % no opinion , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
March 8–November 9, 2021
, align=center, ? , align=center, ? , align=center, 77% , align=center, 21% , align=center, 1% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 5–December 23, 2017
, align=center, 659 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 73% , align=center, 20% , align=center, 7% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
May 18, 2016–January 10, 2017
, align=center, 1,073 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 70% , align=center, 20% , align=center, 10% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 29, 2015–January 7, 2016
, align=center, 872 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 70% , align=center, 24% , align=center, 7% , - , - , align
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov
, align=center, September 20–October 1, 2014 , align=center, 1,284 likely voters , align=center, ± 3.3% , align=center, 61% , align=center, 26% , align=center, 13% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 2, 2014–January 4, 2015
, align=center, 565 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 67% , align=center, 26% , align=center, 7% , -
Public Policy Polling
, align=center, July 26–29, 2012 , align=center, 771 voters , align=center, ± 3.53% , align=center, 55% , align=center, 33% , align=center, 12% , -
Public Policy Polling
, align=center, September 22–25, 2011 , align=center, 592 voters , align=center, ± 4% , align=center, 55% , align=center, 32% , align=center, 13% , -
Quinnipiac University Polling Institute
, align=center, March 29–April 4, 2005 , align=center, 1,541 registered voters , align=center, ± 2.5% , align=center, 42% , align=center, 53% , align=center, 6% , -
Quinnipiac University Polling Institute
, align=center, May 26–June 1, 2004 , align=center, 1,350 registered voters , align=center, ± 2.7% , align=center, 45% , align=center, 50% , align=center, 5% , -
Quinnipiac University Polling Institute
, align=center, October 1–7, 2003 , align=center, 1,519 voters , align=center, ± 2.5% , align=center, 44% , align=center, 50% , align=center, 6% , -

References

{{Same-sex marriage in the United States 2008 in LGBT history

LGBT rights in Connecticut 2008 in Connecticut