DON'T WAIT AND SEE IN CT: Jennifer Gerarda Brown

At a Judiciary Committee hearing last week, state senators and representatives wondered whether they should delay a vote on same-sex marriage until after a New Haven County Superior Court decides a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Connecticut's marriage law. Wouldn't it be more prudent, they reasoned, to wait and see if the courts would legalize same-sex marriage for them?

Well, no. The simple reason our legislators should act first is that it is their job to make the law. And granting equal marriage rights to all Connecticut's citizens, without regard to gender or sexual orientation, is the right thing to do.

Besides, the reasons for legislative action now extend beyond our state: By enacting a state statute, the Connecticut General Assembly has a unique opportunity to undermine attempts to alter our federal constitution.

President Bush and a group of religious conservatives in Congress have proposed to alter the U.S. Constitution through the so-called Marriage Protection Amendment, which would ban same-sex marriages.

President Bush's central claim is that this amendment is necessary to stop "activist judges" from forcing same-sex marriage on a resistant populace. The president justifies the amendment in the name of "democratic action" and "the voice of the people." But at its core, the amendment is fundamentally anti-democratic: It would prohibit states from legislatively embracing equal marriage rights.

Connecticut can reveal the illogic of the proposed constitutional amendment by passing marriage equality legislation now. This would demonstrate that the amendment does more than rein in judges; it pre-empts state legislatures from defining the prerequisites for marriage -- a core state right since the nation's founding. ...

For several years, Connecticut's General Assembly has been gathering information and deliberating the merits of same-sex marriage. The Office of Legislative Research studied the likely economic, psychological and sociological impact. Numerous public hearings have featured testimony by ordinary citizens and experts in many fields -- including law, history, religion and psychology. The process has been a great example of democratic deliberation. Now that process should produce marriage legislation that protects and respects the citizens of Connecticut without regard to gender or sexual orientation.

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posted by Eve at 3:57 PM VOTE

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