On October 10, 2008, the Supreme Court of the State of Connecticut released its decision in Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health, 289 Conn. 135, 957 A.2d 407. In a 4 to 3 decision, the Court held that “The state has failed to provide sufficient justification for excluding same sex couples from the institution of marriage.” Therefore, Connecticut became the third state in the United States to allow legal same sex marriage.
Same sex couples are still not permitted the legal status of spouses by federal law, since the federal Defense Of Marriage Act, passed in 1996, limits a legal union for federal purposes, to persons of the opposite sex, who are husbands or wives. DOMA does not preclude different states from defining marriage differently, but no state can be forced to recognize same sex marriage if that state’s laws do not allow it. So same sex couples cannot file joint income tax returns for IRS purposes, but can do so for Connecticut state taxes. Other state benefits, available to heterosexual spouses, cannot be denied to same sex couples.
The Legislature recently passed Public Act 09-13, which became effective on April 23, 2009, and some additional provisions are effective October 1, 2010. This Act “caught up” to the Kerrigan decision, and conformed the law to it. In Connecticut, marriage is now defined as the legal union of two persons, not one man and one woman. Previously conducted civil unions are transformed into marriages, unless the union has already legally ended or has been or is in the process of being dissolved. The law exempts clergy or religious organizations from participating in marriages that violate their religious beliefs. Religiously affiliated organizations may operate as they choose, or may refuse services to same sex married persons, as long as the specific program or purpose does not receive state or federal funding.