Connecticut Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex marriage

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Friday morning that the state must open up the institution of marriage to same-sex couples, striking down a 2005 civil union law on the grounds that state law has "failed to provide sufficient justification for excluding same sex couples from the institution of marriage.

"We conclude that, 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, the segregation of heterosexual and homosexual couples into separate institutions constitutes a cognizable harm," wrote Justice Richard N. Palmer, for the majority.

The decision, long-awaited and in which there were three dissents, reverses a lower court ruling that upheld the denial of marriage permits to eight same-sex couples, on the grounds that Connecticut only recognizes marriage as a union of one man and one woman.

Read More