FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 4, 2005

Decision Barring Additional Parties to Connecticut Marriage Case

Decision Barring Family Institute and Two Town Clerks as Parties to Connecticut Marriage Case

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) expressed satisfaction with the decision of the New Haven Superior Court barring the Family Institute of Connecticut (FIC) and two town clerks as parties to the marriage equality case Kerrigan & Mock v. Connecticut Department of Public Health.

Judge Patty Jenkins Pittman denied FIC and the clerks official party status, noting that they have “no interest to assert that is any different from any member of the public at large who may have an opinion about important political and social issues of the day.” Still, they may be free to submit “friend-of-the-court” briefs at the appropriate time in the case. (The decision is available on GLAD’s web site at www.glad.org.)

“We’re pleased that we can now focus on the merits of the case: seven loving, committed, same-sex couples seek to end Connecticut’s discrimination against them and their families,” said GLAD attorney Bennett Klein.

He added, “The equality provisions of the Connecticut Constitution forbid the state from denying marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples. The plaintiffs must be treated equally under the law.”

GLAD filed Kerrigan on August 25, 2004 in New Haven Superior Court on behalf of gay and lesbian couples who were denied marriage licenses. The couples are:

  * Beth Kerrigan and Jody Mock of West Hartford, parents of two-year-old twin boys
  * Janet Peck and Carol Conklin of Colchester, life-long Connecticut residents together for 29 years
  * Jeffrey Busch and Stephen Davis of Wilton, who work in New York City and are raising their two-year-old son, Elijah
  * J.E. Martin and Denise Howard of Stratford, parents of seven-year-old Rachel and four-year-old Ross
  * Barbara and Robin Levine-Ritterman of New Haven, who along with their nine-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son are facing the challenge of Barb’s breast cancer
  * John Anderson and Garrett Stack of Woodbridge, who have a combined 55 years of service to the Stratford public school system
  * Geraldine and Suzanne Artis of Middletown, parents of a six-year-old and four-year-old twins

The legal team representing the couples includes GLAD attorneys Mary Bonauto, Bennett Klein, Karen Loewy and Jennifer Levi; Maureen M. Murphy of Murphy, Murphy & Nugent in New Haven; Kenneth J. Bartschi of Horton, Shields & Knox in Hartford; and Annette M. Lamoreaux of the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union.

Related Links
More about Kerrigan & Mock v. Connecticut Department of Public Health