Tears were in the eyes of Barbara LeCornec as she
watched her friends, a gay couple together for more
than seven years, become one of the first to enter
into a civil union in the state of Connecticut Saturday
morning.
"This
is such an emotional time," LeCornec said with
a soft smile, standing proudly in the foyer of the
Stamford City Hall and looking on as the city's mayor,
Dannel Malloy, presided over her friends' civil union
ceremony. "Those are my boys."
LeCornec and her longtime partner Maureen Boylan,
as well as dozens of gay and lesbian couples, entered
into civil unions Saturday around Connecticut, as
the state become only the second in the country, after
Vermont, to allow same-sex civil unions; and the first
to extend civil union rights to its gay and lesbian
residents without external pressure from the courts.
Many couples waited in line Saturday morning to obtain
and register their civil unions, as a handful of the
state's town clerk's offices, the majority of which
are closed on the weekend, opened up specifically
to allow gays and lesbians to obtain and register
their civil unions on the first day the went into
effect, Saturday, Oct. 1.
Laura DeNardis and Deborah Smith began waiting in
line at the Stamford Town Clerk's Office just before
the office opened at 9 a.m. The lesbian couple, who
have been together for 15 years, moved to Connecticut
from Virginia in June, specifically to gain the ability
to enter into a same-sex civil union.
"We felt that it was necessary to move and make
a statement,” DeNardis explained, just before
the mayor unionized the couple at city hall. "We
decided to take our tax dollars elsewhere. And so
now we are paying higher taxes in Connecticut -- but
it is worth it,"
And,
although the two were married several years ago in a
private, religious ceremony, that event did not afford
the women any additional rights and responsibilities
in the eyes of the state, local or federal government.
Something, they said, which can now be partially rectified
with Connecticut’s laAnd, although the two were
married several years ago in a private, religious ceremony,
that event did not afford the women any additional rights
and responsibilities in the eyes of the state, local
or federal government. Something, they said, which can
now be partially rectified with Connecticut's law.
“This really gives us the legal recognition
and the (state) protections that goes with it,”
Smith said just after the couple obtained their civil
union license Saturday. “So we felt that it
was prudent to do this as soon as possible.”
Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy, a Democrat hoping
to retain his seat in this November’s municipal
elections, presided over a handful of civil union
ceremonies Saturday morning at city hall. Malloy,
who has also thrown his hat into the state’s
gubernatorial race ring, said Saturday he would also
preside over private ceremonies later that day.
“The law has changed and people now have a
set of rights, and I support that, and I have demonstrated
my support of that, and will continue to do so today,
and I am honored to be asked to perform some ceremonies,”
Malloy said shortly before he began unionizing gay
and lesbian couples. “Some of these people are
my friends.”
According to a civil unions primer put together
by Love Makes a Family (LMF) and GLAD, and posted
on LMF’s Web site, a Connecticut civil union
gives same-sex couples “automatic inclusion
within and under hundreds of Connecticut state laws
that apply to married spouses, family and next of
kin.”
The primer states that Connecticut’s Office
of Legislative Research identified the following categories
of laws that will include civil union couples: family
law, including marriage, divorce and support; title,
tenure, descent and distribution, intestate succession,
wills, survivorships; state and municipal taxation;
probate courts and procedure; group insurance for
government (but not private-sector) employees; family
leave benefits; financial disclosure and conflict-of-interest
rules; protection against discrimination based on
marital status; emergency and non-emergency medical
care and treatment, hospital visitation and notification,
and authority to act in matters affecting family members;
state public assistance benefits, workers’ compensation
and crime victims’ rights; and marital privileges
in court proceedings.
