On Friday, October 10, Connecticut became the third U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage when its Supreme Court ruled that the state's ban on gay nuptials violated Connecticut's constitution.
In a progression similar to California's, Connecticut first enacted a civil union system that gave same-sex couples the rights and responsibilities of marriage. Same-sex couples sued, arguing that separate-but-equal is a consitutional violation, and the state Supreme Court agreed. The 4-3 majority opinion held that the ban on same-sex marriage violated the state constitution's equal protection clause. Two justices filed dissenting opinions.
