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Gays get right to marry in US state Connecticut - International Herald Tribune

WEST HARTFORD, Connecticut: Same-sex couples exchanged vows Wednesday for the first time in Connecticut amid cheers and tears of joy, while gay activists planned protests across the country over the vote that took away their right to marry in California.

Surrounded by red roses and smiles, Jody Mock and Elizabeth Kerrigan, who led the lawsuit that that overturned the state law, emerged from West Hartford's town hall to the cheers of about 150 people and waved their marriage license high.

"We feel very fortunate to live in the state of Connecticut, where marriage equality is valued, and hopefully other states will also do what is fair," Kerrigan said.

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Oct. 10 that same-sex couples have the right to wed rather than accept a 2005 civil union law designed to give them the same rights as married couples. A lower-court judge entered a final order permitting same-sex marriage Wednesday morning. Massachusetts is the only other state that allows gay marriages.

Gay marriage advocates said they were planning nationwide demonstrations this weekend in more than 175 cities and outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington. A Seattle blogger was trying to organize simultaneous protests outside statehouses and city halls in every state Saturday.

In New York City, several hundred protesters planned to march later Wednesday on the Mormon Temple in Manhattan. The church had encouraged its members to support the California ban.

Outside City Hall in New Haven, bubbles and white balloons bounced in the chilly autumn air as well-wishers cheered the marriage of Peg Oliveira and Jennifer Vickery.

Labels: Gay marriage, Gay rights