Connecticut judge rules on U.S. gay marriage law

July 31, 2012

Hartford, Connecticut: A Connecticut judge has ruled part of a federal law, in which it defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and denies tax, health, and other benefits to married same-sex couples, unconstitutional.

United States District Court for the District of Connecticut Judge Vanessa Bryant wrote and issued a 104-page decision, in which she stated that the provision in the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act violates citizen's Fifth Amendment, the right to equal protection.

Judge Bryant wrote that the provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, "obligates the federal government to single out a certain category of marriages as excluded from federal recognition, thereby resulting in an inconsistent distribution of federal marital benefits." She also went on to note that, "many courts have concluded that homosexuals have suffered a long and significant history of purposeful discrimination."

Agreeing with lower court rulings that the DOMA law is unconstitutional, the Obama administration still wants this law reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court. President Barack Obama has given instructions to all federal agencies to continue to still enforce the DOMA law ban on federal benefits to same-sex married couples until the U.S. Supreme Court has come to a final ruling on the matter.

There have been other federal judges who have issued similar rulings across the country. 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled the law unconstitutional in May of 2012, and by early July 2012, the Obama administration put forth requests to the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the legal fights erupting over the Defense of Marriage Act.

Gay and lesbian advocates have applauded the ruling by Judge Vanessa Bryant, but are expecting an appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals located in Manhattan.

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Connecticut judicial news