RALLY AGAINST SSM IN CT: From the Hartford Courant

With cheers, applause and shouts of "Amen," thousands of people converged on the lawn of the state Capitol Sunday afternoon to express their opposition to gay marriage. In a church just a few miles away, gay and lesbian couples and their supporters expressed their hope that same-sex unions soon would be legally sanctioned.

Both sides agree on one point: The deeply polarizing debate over gay marriage has become a defining public policy question. "We have captured the attention of the people of our state," state Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the legislature's judiciary committee and one of the most visible advocates of same-sex marriage, told a gathering of more than 800 at Immanuel Congregational Church in Hartford. "This is not about changing laws. ... This battle in the end is about changing public opinion."

At the Capitol, Brian Brown, executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, looked down at the diverse crowd standing before him and told them they were making history. "We're at a turning point," Brown said. "We come from different faiths, different races, different classes. ... Today we stand as one to defend marriage."

Sunday's dueling gatherings, along with a third rally in Bushnell Park organized by a gay civil rights group, took place amid a growing state
and national discourse on the issue. Connecticut's General Assembly has wrestled with the question for several years now. In November, a Massachusetts court ruled that gay couples had the right to marry, a ruling that was affirmed last week. Gay rights activists in Connecticut won a measure of legal recognition two years ago, when same-sex couples were granted a limited bundle of rights. Now, led by the coalition Love Makes a Family, they are lobbying for a change in the state's marriage laws. Lawlor predicted that Connecticut will become the first state legislature to approve gay marriage without a court order.

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