NEW HAVEN, Conn. — In a 4–3 decision, the Connecticut Supreme Court Friday struck down the state’s marriage law, which defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman, saying it is unconstitutional. Alliance Defense Fund attorneys had filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Family Research Council asking the court to affirm marriage.
“Judges and politicians should never impose a system that knowingly deprives a child of a mom and a dad. We believe that Americans are growing weary of this form of judicial activism,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Brian Raum. “This decision demonstrates--as did the recent decision from the California Supreme Court--the dire need for states to enact constitutional amendments to protect marriage from ongoing judicial attack.”
In 2004, the American Civil Liberties Union together with Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders filed a lawsuit demanding marriage licenses for seven same-sex couples. In July 2006, a judge ruled that the state law providing marriage only for opposite-sex couples does not violate the state’s constitution. Same-sex “marriage” advocates appealed, and ADF attorneys filed an amicus brief affirming marriage when the case reached the state’s high court (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4099).
“The tragic choice of the Connecticut Supreme Court puts the agenda of political special interests ahead of the well-being of the state’s children,” said Raum. “We ask, which parent doesn’t matter: a mom or a dad?”
A copy of the opinion issued by the Connecticut Supreme Court in Kerrigan v. State of Connecticut is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/KerriganOpinion.pdf.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family. ADF President Alan Sears is co-author with Craig Osten of the book The ACLU vs. America (www.acluvsamerica.com).
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