Civil unions in Connecticut

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in the U.S. state of Connecticut since November 12, 2008, following a state court decision that found the state's civil unions failed to provide same-sex couples with rights and privileges equivalent to those of marriage. Connecticut was the second state to do so after Massachusetts.

On January 31, 2007, State Senator Andrew J. McDonald and State Representative Michael Lawlor, Co-Chairpersons of the Judiciary Committee, announced the introduction of a bill that would give same-sex couples full marriage rights in the state of Connecticut. The bill, HB 7395, passed the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 27–15 on April 12, 2007.

Governor Jodi Rell said she would veto any same-sex marriage legislation. The bill was never submitted to the full House or Senate prior to adjournment of the 2007 session.

On April 22, 2009, Connecticut legislators, both in the House (vote 100-44) and in the Senate (vote 28-7), agreed to replace all statutory references to marriage with gender-neutral language. Governor Jodi Rell, a Republican, signed the law on April 23. The definition of marriage in Connecticut is now the following:

Marriage means the legal union of two persons.

On October 1, 2010, civil unions ceased to be performed, and existing civil unions were automatically converted into marriages. Before that date, couples in existing Connecticut civil unions could convert them to marriages voluntarily. Same-sex marriages, civil unions and broad domestic partnerships from other jurisdictions are legally treated as marriages in Connecticut.

In August 2004, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) representing eight same-sex couples from Connecticut filed a lawsuit in state court, challenging what they described as the state's discriminatory exclusion of same-sex couples from the right to marry. They argued that this discrimination violated the equality and liberty provisions of the Connecticut Constitution and were supported by the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union. The case was opposed by the Family Institute of Connecticut, which was denied intervenor status in the case.

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