Connecticut Legislature to Put Same-Sex Unions to a Vote (LATimes)

HARTFORD, Conn. — Lawmakers here will soon take up a bill legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples. The measure would make Connecticut the first state to sanction gay and lesbian unions through legislative action rather than court order.

If enacted, it would extend all the rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples, except for the right to obtain a marriage license. The bill passed a key hurdle last month when it was approved 25-13 by the Legislature's Joint Judiciary Committee.

In Massachusetts, an order last year from the Supreme Judicial Court made that state the first to legalize same-sex marriage. In Vermont, the civil-union concept was introduced five years ago when the state's highest court ordered the Legislature to extend the privileges of marriage to same-sex couples.

"In Connecticut, it is a ground-up, grass-roots, legislative-based process. Nobody is twisting our arm," said state Sen. Andrew J. McDonald, a Democrat who is one of three openly gay state legislators here.

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