In a 4-3 decision based on the state constitution, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples cannot be denied the right to marry. Conn. is now the third state with judicially imposed same-sex marriage. No state has approved same-sex marriage through referendum or the legislative process.
Strategically, using litigation to achieve marriage equality has been a mixed bag. On the one hand, it has bypassed the democratic process whereby the people or their elected representatives control major policy decisions. It has, in some cases, created backlash, causing a number of states to pass anti-same-sex marriage amendments. On the other hand, it has created some opportunities for Americans to see that allowing two men or two women to marry each other has brought about neither Armageddon nor the end of traditional marriage.
Same-sex marriage is a significant change to a long-standing and dearly held societal institution. Change of that nature should only be made in a considered and deliberate manner. We must make the case for marriage equality without reducing it to merely a grab for legal rights. Those rights, while imminently important, are not what makes marriage. Marriage is a commitment and a union of two people together. It is inherently different from co-habitation or contractual relationships. Any straight opponent who opposes same sex marriage should ask themselves why they want or wanted to get married. The same desire for permanence, oneness and togetherness that straight people have also resides in gay people.
Marriage changes things.
