Source: New York Times, Hartford Courant, Stamford Advocate, WFSB 

New Haven, Conn. -- 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 4-year legal battle for same-sex marriage came to an end down the street this morning in a New Haven courtroom when Superior Court Judge Jonathan E. Silbert signed an order paving the way to couples throughout the state to get their licenses.

The state Supreme Court last month, in a 4-3 decision, ruled that preventing gay and lesbian couples from marrying violates the state constitution. Today's brief hearing was a formality that was needed before gay couples could start receiving marriage licenses.

Immediately after the hearing, one of the plaintiff couples, Barbara and Robin Levine-Ritterman, walked to balloon-bedecked New Haven city hall to obtain their marriage license -- perhaps the first couple in the state to do so. They came out of city hall and were greeted by a small crowd that applauded. They are planning their wedding for May, Hartford Courant reports.

The couple 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, New York Times reports.

"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."

Peg Oiveira and Jennifer Vickery weren't waiting. Less than two hours after the court ruling became official, the couple wed near a farmer's market next to New Haven City Hall, WFSB reports.

They were the first couple to marry in New Haven and may have been the first to officiate vows in the state. Having their names scribed in the state's history books made the day even more special for the New Haven couple. They said their vows and exchanged rings beneath the flashing of camera bulbs amid a crowd eager to witness the historic event, WFSB reports.

"We are just so excited that it happened," said Oliveira. "We said, OK, let's go do it."

In Stamford, Deborah Smith and Laura DeNardis became the first local couple to be wed under the new rules, Stamford Advocate reports.

A justice of the peace married the couple shortly after 9:30 am Wednesday at Stamford Government Center.

Smith and DeNardis, both 42, got a civil union in 2005 and were married in a non-legal ceremony in 1995. A priest presided over that ceremony, held at the Metropolitan Community Church in Washington D.C. Metropolitan Community Churches are a gay-and lesbian-oriented Christian ministry. Friends and family attended the ceremony, and the couple exchanged diamond rings.

"We didn't have any legal avenue, but we went through the spiritual and the emotional commitment," DeNardis said.

Three other people arrived in the Stamford government center Wednesday morning to pick up marriage applications as the town clerk waited for notice from New Haven that the final ruling had been issued, the Advocate reports.

Because the court announced only last week that Wednesday would be the official first day of nuptials, many gay and lesbian couples told the New York Times that they would wait to apply for their licenses, which expire after 65 days, as they planned big wedding celebrations for the spring and summer.

John Stansell, 63, and Michael Pellegrino, 64, weren't going to wait. They were one of the first couples to fill out a marriage license application in Stamford.

Even before the State Supreme Court issued its ruling in October, the couple had planned a ceremony this Saturday to celebrate their 35th anniversary, Stamford Advocate reports.

"This is serendipitous for us," Stansell said. "We planned this service for a long time."

Suzanne Artis, another plaintiff, said in New Haven that she and her partner, Geraldine Artis, thought the day was momentous enough to bring their three children, whom they home school. The couple already has a civil union but "it's not the same as marriage," Suzanne told the Courant.

Attorney Bennett Klein of GLADD, the Boston-based legal group that litigated the case, told the court how proud each of the couples is to live in Connecticut, the Courant reports.

This "does mark the end of a very long journey toward equality," he said.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who defended the case for the state, praised his staff and said, "but, like all citizens of Connecticut we respect the rule of law."

Connecticut and Massachusetts are the only states that permit same-sex couples to marry. In June, California's highest court declared same-sex marriage legal in that state and thousands of couples wed. But on election day, voters ended that by approving a ballot measure banning same-sex marriage.

Thirty states have written such bans into their constitutions. Constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage also passed last week in Arizona and Florida, and Arkansas voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents.

A handful of states permit gay and lesbian couples to enter into civil unions -- legal partnerships that convey many of the rights of marriage. New York and Rhode Island do not permit same-sex couples to marry, but recognize such marriages that are performed in states that do permit them, Hartford Courant reports.

Connecticut voters last week rejected the idea of a constitutional convention to amend the state's constitution, a major blow to opponents of same-sex marriage. Anti-gay activists had hoped to use a convention to put an anti-gay marriage amendment on the state ballot.

Connecticut's 2005 civil union law will remain on the books, at least for now, Stamford Advocate reports. Same-sex couples can continue to enter civil unions, which give them the same legal rights and privileges in Connecticut as married couples without the status of being married. California has a similar law, called domestic partnerships, that grants virtually all rights of civil marriage, but which the court there said is discriminatory.

State Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the legislature's Judiciary Committee, said lawmakers will have to decide the fate of the civil union law.

"We'll definitely be taking this up," he said. The new legislative session opens in January

Source: Same-Sex Marriages Become Reality in Connecticut | New York Times 
Stamford women enter into city's first same-sex marriage | Stamford Advocate
Judge Clears Way For Same-Sex Marriages | Hartford Courant
First Connecticut Same-Sex Couple Marries | WFSB

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