CT Both sides in same-sex marriage debate await Supreme Court ruling The Republican-American, Waterbury, Conn.

Both sides in same-sex marriage debate await Supreme Court ruling The Republican-American, Waterbury, Conn.

Both sides in same-sex marriage debate await Supreme Court ruling
HARTFORD -- The opposing camps in the gay marriage debate are waiting for the Connecticut Supreme Court to make a historic ruling on marriage rights.Four months have passed since the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on whether same-sex couples have the legal right to marry here.
The court's decision could redefine marriage in Connecticut. Until the ruling, opposing sides on the marriage question can only wait and speculate.Vincent P. McCarthy, an attorney for the Family Institute of Connecticut and an opponent of same-sex marriage, suspects that the seven justices who heard the case are sharply divided."I think it is going to be close," McCarthy said.Bennett Klein, a senior staff attorney with Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, said, "I really think there is no purpose to predicting or speculating about the outcome of the case." Lawyers for GLAD argued on behalf of Beth Kerrigan and Jody Mock, and other gay and lesbian couples who brought the court appeal.
McCarthy said the length of the Supreme Court's deliberations strikes him as odd. He takes that as a possible sign of deep divisions and jockeying among justices."I think you are going to see a very divided opinion when it comes out," McCarthy said.He said the loss of Senior Justice William J. Sullivan was a blow for opponents of same-sex marriage. Sullivan removed himself from the panel assigned to the appeal days before it was to hear arguments in the case.McCarthy said opponents considered Sullivan, a devout Catholic and a conservative on the bench, a sure vote against same-sex marriage.