The June 26, 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell vs. Hodges ensures that same-sex marriages will be recognized throughout the United States. * December 15, 2009 – The District of Columbia City Council votes to legalize same-sex marriage in the region. This came after the Council voted in early 2009 to recognize same-sex marriages contracted in other states where such unions were legal. * June 24, 2011 – New York becomes the sixth U.S. state to allow same-sex marriage. After Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill, same-sex couples rushed to plan their weddings. * February 2, 2012 – The Washington State Senate passes a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Following the October 2008 decision of the Connecticut Supreme Court, which found that civil partnerships do not confer the rights and obligations of marriage on same-sex couples, all existing registered partnerships were automatically converted to marriages on October 1, 2010. [3] Same-sex marriage became Connecticut`s public health commissioner on November 12, 2008, following a Supreme Court decision in Kerrigan v.

Commissioner of Public Health. The plaintiffs in the case alleged that reserving marriage only to heterosexual couples was a violation of the provisions of the Connecticut Constitution guaranteeing freedom and equality to all citizens. Marriage replaced civil partnerships, which were created to allow for some legal recognition for same-sex partners. * 4. November 2008 – California joined the vast majority of U.S. states in banning same-sex marriage in 2008, when voters passed the ban known as Proposition 8. This overturned the California Supreme Court`s May 2008 ruling that gender restrictions on marriage violate the state`s equality protection. In October 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law recognizing same-sex marriage in other states that went into effect on January 1, 2011. * February 16, 2012 – The New Jersey legislature approves a bill to legalize same-sex marriage and sends it to Republican Governor Chris Christie. Planning a life with your spouse can involve complicated legal decisions. Same-sex couples may also face obstacles in exercising their rights.

You may want to consult with a Connecticut family attorney about your marriage. Alexis holds a Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington. From there, she earned her J.D. from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities School of Law, where she focused on criminal law and earned her magna laude degree. Her contributions to our law library include articles on same-sex marriage, bankruptcy, and laws surrounding civil and domestic partnerships. April 3, 2009 – The Iowa Supreme Court issues a unanimous ruling that the ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples. The state`s first legal same-sex marriages took place later this month. Three of the judges who ruled in this case were removed from office in the 2010 midterm elections. Anyone who wants to get married must go to a town hall and fill out a marriage application (an application can also be downloaded from the Internet and filled out at the town hall). If a person is a resident of Connecticut, that person must go to the town hall where they live or where the ceremony will take place. For non-resident couples, the couple must apply for the marriage certificate in the city where the ceremony will take place.

After submitting the application, the city clerk issues a marriage certificate. After the ceremony, the person celebrating the marriage must return the marriage certificate to the city where the ceremony took place. The city clerk then registers the marriage and the couple can obtain an official marriage certificate. Where same-sex marriage is legal is because of court rulings and legislative measures, as referendums have always supported state bans on same-sex marriages. A marriage automatically gives a person inclusion in and under many Connecticut state laws that apply to spouse, family, and next of kin. In August 2004, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), representing eight same-sex couples in Connecticut, filed a lawsuit in state court challenging the state`s discriminatory exclusion of same-sex couples from the right to marry. The couples, seven of whom had not received marriage licenses in Madison, sued the Connecticut Department of Public Health and Madison`s registrar of important statistics, Dorothy Dean. They argued that this discrimination violated the equality and liberty provisions of the Connecticut Constitution and was supported by the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union.

The case was dismissed by the Family Institute of Connecticut, which was denied intervener status in the case. June 3, 2009 – New Hampshire has approved same-sex marriages after its Democratic-controlled House of Representatives approved same-sex marriage, hours after the state Senate passed the law along party lines. Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, signed the bill, which went into effect on January 1, 2011. Republicans, who now hold a majority in the state legislature, are trying to reverse the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2012.