CONNECTICUT'S SAME-SEX MARRIAGE DILEMMA by Tim Siggia

CONNECTICUT'S SAME-SEX

MARRIAGE DILEMMA

By Tim Siggia

May 14, 2007

Here in Connecticut, where the unofficial state motto is, "Above All Else We Must Be Liberal," it seems a caveat has been added. The new unofficial motto reads, "Above All Else We Must Be Liberal (unless reelection is at stake). The caveat was unwittingly added by State Representative Michael Lawlor and State Senator Andrew MacDonald, the two leading proponents of same-sex marriage in Connecticut. The two ultra-liberal Democrats shelved, for the time being at least, a bill that would have legalized gay marriage in Connecticut, saying that they did not have enough votes in either the House or the Senate for the measure to pass.

This presents a most interesting scenario. In a state that prides itself on being Blue and "progressive," where Democrats enjoy a veto-proof majority in the state legislature, and where a recent Hartford Courant poll taken in conjunction with the University of Connecticut found 49 percent of those polled favored gay marriage as opposed to 46 percent who opposed it, a measure that would have made Connecticut the first state in the nation to legislatively enact same-sex marriage will not go forward for a projected lack of votes. One would think that in a state as gung-ho liberal as Connecticut there would be a groundswell of grassroots pressure to go for it. Apparently, however, this is not the case.

Even in a state like Connecticut common sense sometimes trumps allegiance to the doctrine of liberalism. This, apparently, is one of those rare moments. A strong, orchestrated effort by the Family Institute of Connecticut, a group dedicated to traditional family values, along with the Roman Catholic Church and other religious denominations, to oppose the legislation, has apparently paid off, and Connecticut legislators now seem less concerned with being in the vanguard of progressivism than with getting reelected in 2008.

Why the sudden cooling off on this hot-button topic? There are a number of possibilities, the most glaring of which may be that the elected representatives are, when push comes to shove, decidedly more liberal than their constituents, whom they supposedly represent. This is probably not true in the case of Lawlor, in particular, whose East Haven district encompasses many elements of the liberal Yale elite. Legislators from other districts, however, seem to have come to a recent awareness that Joe and Joanna Sixpack have different thoughts on the matter. Then too, polls by the Hartford Courant, known for the liberal viewpoint of its editorial staff, are always highly suspect. How many were polled? What were the demographics? Was the poll even scientific? The Courant does not say.

As it is, Connecticut is currently one of two states recognizing same-sex civil unions, a measure governor M. Jodi Rell was more than eager to sign. One state, Massachusetts, allows gay marriage, though this was brought about not by the Massachusetts legislature but by a decision of the state supreme court. New Jersey is reportedly considering a similar measure to enact gay marriage in that state.

And the issue will not go away. Lawlor and MacDonald will be back, along with the rest of their shrill, fanatical propagandists for the gay lobby. In the meantime, Connecticut conservatives, oxymoronic as that phrase may sound, have earned themselves what at the very least may be considered a temporary victory.