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CHRIS JOHNSON
Friday, November 07, 2008
Gay
couples
and
officials
in
Connecticut
are
making
preparations
for
the
arrival
of
same-sex
marriage
in
the
state
next
week,
but
the
availability
of
gay
nuptials
is
expected
to
be
a
more
low-key
affair
than
when
same-sex
marriage
came
to
California.
Officials
expect
that
the
smaller
population
of
Connecticut
means
the
state
is
home
to
fewer
gay
couples
who
would
opt
to
get
married.
Connecticut
also
will
be
competing
with
Massachusetts
to
draw
out-of-state
couples
to
get
married.
The
Connecticut
Supreme
Court
ruled
Oct.
10
that
the
state
must
allow
gay
couples
to
marry.
Such
marriages
can
begin
Nov.
12.
Connecticut
is
the
third
state,
after
Massachusetts
and
California,
to
legalize
same-sex
marriage.
New
York
recognizes
same-sex
marriages
performed
in
other
states,
but
does
not
issue
marriage
licenses
to
gay
couples.
Same-sex
marriage
supporters
were
buoyed
Tuesday
when
Connecticut
voters
decided
to
reject
a
measure
that
would
have
led
to
a
state
constitutional
convention.
The
convention
could
have
stripped
marriage
rights
from
the
state
constitution
or
instituted
a
referendum
process
that
would
have
allowed
voters
to
eliminate
gay
nuptials.
The
state’s
public
health
department
has
redesigned
the
marriage
applications
to
reflect
the
upcoming
availability
of
gay
nuptials.
While
the
old
licenses
had
a
space
for
one
name
under
“bride”
and
another
under
“groom,”
the
new
licenses
will
have
boxes
where
applicants
can
select
“bride,”
“groom”
or
“spouse.”
Richard
Blumenthal,
the
state
attorney
general,
issued
an
opinion
Oct.
28
that
justices
of
the
peace
could
not
opt
out
of
performing
marriage
ceremonies
for
gay
couples.
Justices
of
the
peace
in
Connecticut
have
the
option
of
not
performing
civil
unions
for
gay
couples.
At
least
one
official
was
not
expecting
more
activity
at
Connecticut’s
town
halls,
which
will
issue
marriage
licenses
to
gay
couples.
Renee
Capolla,
registrar
of
vital
statistics
in
New
Haven,
said
her
office
hasn’t
received
many
phone
calls
regarding
marriage
licenses
for
gay
couples.
She
noted
that
her
office
isn’t
planning
any
extended
hours
for
when
same-sex
marriage
becomes
available
and
wouldn’t
have
the
capability
to
do
so
because
her
staff
has
been
cut.
“It’s
just
going
to
be
the
staff
that
we
have
here
everyday,
and
that’s
it,”
she
said.
Capolla
said
she
is
not
expecting
an
increase
in
activity
because
there
was
not
much
of
an
additional
demand
when
civil
unions
first
became
available
in
Connecticut.
She
said
she
was
overstaffed
on
the
day
the
state
began
to
offer
civil
unions.
“We
had
a
full
staff
here
and
we
only
issued
10
that
day,”
she
said.
But
Dan
Carey,
city
clerk
for
Hartford,
said
his
office
is
considering
some
additional
hours
on
Saturday
once
gay
nuptials
become
available.
“We
have
an
operation
in
place,
it’s
just
a
matter
of
getting
the
proper
documentation
from
the
state
at
this
point,”
he
said.
He
said
he
expects
the
demand
for
same-sex
marriage
to
be
greater
than
the
demand
for
civil
unions
because
civil
unions
are
only
available
to
state
residents.
M.V.
Lee
Badgett,
a
research
director
for
the
Williams
Institute,
a
think-tank
for
sexual
orientation
law
at
the
University
of
California
in
Los
Angeles,
said
there
are
about
9,400
gay
couples
in
Connecticut
and
that
about
4,600
of
those
couples
would
marry
in
the
next
three
years.
The
4,600
estimate
is
significantly
smaller
than
the
number
expected
for
California,
where
the
Williams
Institute
in
June
predicted
that
51,320
couples
would
marry
in
the
next
three
years.
Still,
the
4,600
estimate
is
significantly
larger
than
the
number
of
gay
couples
in
civil
unions
in
Connecticut.
The
state
has
issued
2,032
civil
unions
between
October
2005
and
July
2008.
Badgett
said
she
thinks
many
gay
couples
in
Connecticut
are
boycotting
civil
unions
and
waiting
for
the
availability
of
marriage.
“People
have
been
waiting
for
marriage
to
come
along
and
so
we
will
really
see
a
big
jump
in
the
first
year,”
she
said.
Badgett
said
Connecticut
will
be
competing
with
Massachusetts
to
bring
out-of-state
couples
to
marry
there,
and
most
of
those
couples
would
come
from
New
York.
The
Williams
Institute
earlier
predicted
that
same-sex
marriage
would
provide
a
boost
of
$111
million
to
the
Massachusetts
economy
and
create
about
300
new
jobs
for
the
state.
Badgett
said
Connecticut
would
compete
for
a
portion
of
those
economic
benefits.
Some
gay
couples
in
Connecticut
are
planning
to
marry
as
soon
as
it
becomes
available
in
the
state,
but
are
holding
off
on
larger
celebrations.
Beth
Kerrigan,
who
with
her
partner
Jody
Mock
was
the
lead
plaintiff
in
the
case
that
brought
same-sex
marriage
to
Connecticut,
said
she
and
Mock,
her
partner
of
13
years,
plan
to
go
to
the
West
Hartford
town
hall
to
marry
this
month
and
will
have
a
larger
celebration
about
one
year
from
now.
“We’re
going
to
need
time
to
find
a
place
and
do
the
invitations
and
all
of
that,”
she
said.
“We’re
not
going
to
go
out
and
throw
together
a
wedding
because
we
can.
We
want
to
have
a
nice
wedding
that
reflects
who
we
are
—
but
having
the
right
to
get
married,
we
will
take
advantage
of
that
sooner
[rather]
than
later.”
Mock
said
because
she
and
Kerrigan,
who
both
work
in
the
insurance
industry,
were
waiting
for
years
for
the
availability
of
marriage,
they
“kind
of
put
on
hold
plans
for
any
kind
of
formal
ceremony.”
“We’ll
probably
do
something
small,”
Mock
said.
“We’d
like
to
get
our
marriage
in
place
and
then
kind
of
have
time
to
plan
in
a
fun
way
for
the
wedding
[celebration].”
Kerrigan
said
the
wedding
would
be
an
“intimate,
private
occasion”
that
will
involve
their
two
7-year-old
twin
sons.
She
said
she
and
Mock
will
have
special
vows
that
will
address
humor,
forgiveness,
patience
and
“all
the
qualities
that
one
needs
to
bring
to
a
relationship
to
make
it
last.”
Kerrigan
also
said
her
sons
would
be
included
in
the
vows.
“They’re
a
big
part
of
the
family
—
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