Connecticut Court Decides: Denying Gays Right to Marry is Discrimination

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that gays and lesbians have a right to marry under the state's constitution.  Cynthia Cotts, Connecticut Supreme Court Rules Gays and Lesbians May Marry, BloombergNews, Oct. 10, 2008.

Justice Palmer, in writing for the majority, noted that "“segregation of heterosexual and homosexual couples into separate institutions constitutes a cognizable harm,” in light of “the history of pernicious discrimination faced by gay men and lesbians, and because the institution of marriage carries with it a status and significance that the newly created classification of civil unions does not embody.”  Otterman, Connecticut Ruling Overturns Ban on Same-Sex Marriage, NYTimes, Oct. 10, 2008.

Will a new Congress and President have the guts to do the right thing and repeal the misnamed "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA)?  That act requires the federal government to restrict statutory rights of spouses to traditional marriages between a man and a woman.  As a result, a marriage that is legally recognized in Massachusetts, California or Connecticut is not treated as a marriage for purposes of the federal income tax laws, and advantages that are given to male and female spouses, such as the nonrecognition of gain on transfers between spouses under section 1041, are not available to gay and lesbian couples.  As more of our states recognize the restrictive discrimination inherent in that traditional definition, the Congress should recognize that DOMA is discriminatory and eliminate it.