Connecticut On Verge Of Legalizing Civil Unions

[ruggerson]

with all the rights of marriage:


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/05/national/main685831.shtml

(AP) Lawmakers said Tuesday they believe they have enough votes to pass a bill that would make Connecticut the first state to recognize civil unions between same-sex couples without intervention from the courts.

The Democrat-controlled Senate is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the bill. It will then go to the House, where it is also expected to pass.

"Our responsibility as a state is to have laws that ensure the well-being of each of our citizens," said the Rev. Davida Foy Crabtree, minister for the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ.

But opponents said they believe there is still time to scuttle the bill or amend it with language defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. If the bill passes both chambers, opponents vowed to pressure Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell to veto it.

Rell has said she supports the concept of civil unions. However, she has not taken a stand on the bill, which extends all rights and privileges of marriage to same-sex couples but without an actual marriage license.