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(Hartford, Connecticut) When Connecticut's civil
unions law comes into effect at midnight the LGBT rights group that successfully
fought for the law will celebrate with a party, but not all same-sex couples in
the state are cheering.
Many gay and lesbian couples say civil unions are
a sham and only marriage will do. One couple, John de la Roche and Michael
Hargrave say they'll boycott the party sponsored
by Love Makes a Family.
"I cannot force myself to go and dance at this. I just think it's really
insulting that we have to sit in the back of the bus," said de la Roche who
has been in a relationship with Hargrave for 13 years.
Eight same-sex couples filed suit against the
state in July arguing that if the state is willing to grant same-sex couples all
of the legal rights and privileges of marriage under civil unions, it has no
reason to bar them from actually marrying. (story)
Among the couples involved in the suit are Janet Peck, 54, and Carol Conklin,
52. The women will celebrate their 30th anniversary next year but they say
they'll wait until marriage becomes legal.
"After 30 years of feeling married in our hearts and living our lives as if
we're married, accepting a status that's not marriage is very insulting,"
Peck said. "There's no greater love than what Carol and I have shared for
30 years."
Massachusetts is the only state where same-sex
marriage presently is legal. On Thursday, California Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have made that state the second to allow
gay and lesbian couples to marry. (story)
Although California and a number of other states
have domestic partner laws, Vermont and Connecticut are the only jurisdictions
which offers civil unions. That in itself is an achievement says Love Makes a
Family, which also hopes same-sex marriage will one day be legal in Connecticut.
Chris and Scott Emmerson-Pace will enter into a
civil union on Saturday. They've been together since the early 1990s.
"We've been waiting 14 years, so we didn't want to wait any longer,"
said Chris Emmerson-Pace, 36, a teacher. "We also wanted to do it right on
Oct. 1 just to send the message to the state that we respect what they're
doing."
They'll apply for their civil union license at Kent's town hall, one of a handful
that will be open Saturday.
For Charles Rogers of Hartford, entering a civil union with his partner of 12
years will emphasize how much has changed since he was a teenager.
"We never thought this would ever be possible,"
said Rogers, 57, a client manager at Bank of America. "We've come a long
way in just my lifetime. A lot of people don't realize that."
While some gay couples sit out the start of civil
unions and others line up to get their licenses conservatives opposed to gay
nuptials will be demonstrating.
Family Institute of Connecticut and
the Connecticut Catholic Conference have organized a protest rally for Saturday on the
steps of the Capitol.
The two groups pushing for a
constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage and civil
unions.
©365Gay.com 2005
with files from The Associated Press
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