Add another name to the small-but-growing list of states that authorize same-sex marriage:
NEW HAVEN — Bunches of white balloons and giant sprays of long-stemmed red roses festooned City Hall here Wednesday morning, as one of the eight couples who successfully sued the state to allow same-sex marriage became the first to obtain a marriage license as the law took effect.
The couple, Barbara and Robin Levine-Ritterman, filled out the paperwork and waited about 10 minutes for it to be processed, but they said they would not marry today because they were still working out their wedding plan. “We’re thinking about doing it May,” said Robin Levine-Ritterman, who was holding a bouquet of roses. “We really wanted to be part of this historic first.”
The official start of gay marriages came a month after Connecticut’s highest court legalized the unions, and the court announced only last week that Wednesday would be the official first day of nuptials. Many gay and lesbian couples said they would wait to apply for their licenses, which expire after 65 days, as they planned big wedding celebrations for the spring and summer.
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Massachusetts and Connecticut are now the only states allowing same-sex marriage. Vermont and New Hampshire also have civil unions. And California has domestic partnerships that provide many similar rights and privileges.
In addition, the marriage equality movement received a boost in New York when Democrats took control of the State Senate, and New Jersey recognizes civil unions, domestic partnerships, and out-of-state same-sex marriages and will likely be dealing with the marriage issue in short order.
