Recognized Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Connecticut since November 12, 2008 as a result of the Connecticut Supreme Court ruling 4–3 in Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health that the state's statutory prohibition on same-sex marriage violated the Constitution of Connecticut and that the state's civil unions failed to provide same-sex couples with rights and privileges equivalent to those of marriage.
[a] In 2009, the Connecticut General Assembly repealed the statutory prohibition on same-sex marriage, and in October 2010 it ended the ability to enter into civil unions.
On February 17, 1987, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled in the case of Boland v. Catalano that cohabitation agreements between unmarried partners could be enforced, provided they were not based on sexual services.
[CT Gen Stat § 46b-20]In August 2004, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & 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.
On July 12, 2006, Superior Court Judge Jonathan Silbert ruled against the plaintiffs, finding that: Civil union and marriage in Connecticut now share the same benefits, protections and responsibilities under law.
[23] The Supreme Court of Connecticut heard an appeal by the plaintiffs in Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health on May 14, 2007.
[24][25] The court ruled 4–3 that denying same-sex couples the right to marry violated the equality and liberty provisions of the Constitution of Connecticut.
[25] The court also held that it would be unconstitutional to relegate same-sex couples to a status less than full marriage by enacting legislation treating same-sex unions as civil unions rather than marriage: Despite the truly laudable effort of the legislature in equalizing the legal rights afforded same sex and opposite sex couples, there is no doubt that civil unions enjoy a lesser status in our society than marriage.
We therefore conclude that the plaintiffs have alleged a constitutionally cognizable injury, that is, the denial of the right to marry a same sex partner.The decision was originally scheduled to go into effect on October 28, 2008, but was delayed until November 12, 2008 in order to allow state agencies and local officials time to update procedures and prepare for issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
However, I am also firmly convinced that attempts to reverse this decision - either legislatively or by amending the state Constitution - will not meet with success."
[28] Before the court issued its decision, a coalition of groups that included such opponents of same-sex marriage as the state's Roman Catholic bishops and the Family Institute of Connecticut supported a November referendum on a proposal to convene a constitutional convention.
In the case of Mueller v. Tepler, it allowed a woman to pursue a medical practice claim for the loss of income and companionship based on the care her female partner received between 2001 and 2004.
[34] While there are no records of same-sex marriages as understood from a Western perspective being performed in Native American cultures, there is evidence for identities and behaviours that may be placed on the LGBT spectrum.
Many of these cultures recognized two-spirit individuals who were born male but wore women's clothing and performed everyday household work and artistic handiwork which were regarded as belonging to the feminine sphere.