Blumenthal Says Gay Marriage Not Permitted In Connecticut

By Laura Walsh

Associated Press

HARTFORD — Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said May 17 that Connecticut law does not allow for same-sex marriage, but he declined to say whether the state will recognize the marriage licenses issued to gay couples in neighboring Massachusetts.

Mr Blumenthal’s opinion comes in response to queries from local officials in Connecticut and a letter from Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney questioning if laws in any other state permitted gay couples to marry.

Mr Blumenthal said Connecticut statutes do not authorize the issuance of marriage license to same-sex couples. The statutes refer repeatedly to a “bride” and a “groom,” and a “husband” and a “wife,” which are commonly understood to refer to a man and a woman, Mr Blumenthal said.

He declined to say whether the state can recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states because the issue is not addressed in state statutes and would require him “to make law, not interpret it.”

Ultimately, it is up to the legislature to provide clearer direction through statutes whether the state would recognize the marriages, Mr Blumenthal said.

“The bottom line here is that the legislature, and only the legislature, has the authority to grant this authority to same-sex couples,” Mr Blumenthal said.

Mr Blumenthal also said Monday that he anticipates legal challenges to Connecticut marriage laws as same-sex couples grapple with issues of inheritance, tax, divorce, adoption, workers compensation, or health care benefits.

“I wouldn’t be surprised that there would be a challenge given that our neighboring state went through one,” he said.

Gov John G. Rowland agreed.

“I’m not sure what they’d go to court about, because for the most part we recognize many of the rights of same-sex marriages right here in the state of Connecticut,” Mr Rowland said.

Massachusetts was thrust into the center of a nationwide debate on gay marriage when the state’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled 4-3 in November that gays and lesbians had a right under the state constitution to wed. Gay couples began exchanging vows Monday in Massachusetts.

Mr Romney said in a letter to leaders in 49 states that out-of-state gay couples would be prohibited from marrying when same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts unless the laws in their home state permit the marriages.

In a response letter to Mr Romney, Mr Blumenthal noted that any marriages performed in Massachusetts would not be automatically void in Connecticut. Connecticut has no statute declaring same-sex marriages void, Mr Blumenthal wrote.

Anne Stanback, president of the gay-rights group Love Makes a Family, said she is hopeful Mr Romney may still allow Connecticut residents to wed in Massachusetts.

“I think there is still plenty of uncertainty,” Ms Stanback said. “I think that Gov Romney would have a role to play in this.”

Peter Tognalli and Bill Brindamour said they have been together for nearly 26 years and are eager to make the trip to Massachusetts. But they are waiting to see if Mr Romney will grant marriage licenses to Connecticut residents. They are hopeful that marriages in Massachusetts will be recognized nationwide.

“If states don’t give us that recognition then we need to lobby legislatively to get better laws for same-sex couples,” said Mr Tognalli, 51, a curriculum supervisor for Manchester schools.

“I do believe this is going to happen, it’s just a matter of when,” he said.

Opponents of same-sex marriage called Mr Blumenthal’s opinion a victory, and said they remain confident that gay couples will not be recognized as married in Connecticut.

“I think our law is clear. Those ‘marriages’ are invalid,’’ said Brian Brown, executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut. “We do not recognize those marriages.”

Fairfield County Democrat Diane Farrell, who is running for Congress, was among the local officials who had asked for Mr Blumenthal’s opinion. Ms Farrell, who is the first selectman in Westport and a justice of the peace, said she would have performed gay marriages if they were deemed legal.

“I want to do my job to the fullest extent and I do believe in equal rights for all Americans,” Ms Farrell said. “I think we need to recognize that, at the end of the day, people have the right to pursue their own happiness.”

Ms Farrell predicts the issue of same-sex marriage will be a major debate point during next year’s legislative session.

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said same-sex couples who wed in Massachusetts would be recognized as married in his state.

Connecticut’s marriage laws have not been analyzed since 1980, when the attorney general’s office ruled that state statutes did not specifically define marriage.