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  Gay marriage advocates, foes gear up for battle
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ContributorThe Sunset Provision 
Last EditedThe Sunset Provision  Jan 31, 2007 08:28pm
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MediaNewspaper - Boston Globe
News DateThursday, February 1, 2007 02:00:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionTwo years after Connecticut approved civil unions for same-sex couples, two leading state lawmakers said Wednesday they will introduce a bill to allow gay marriage.

Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, and Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairmen of the legislature's Judiciary Committee, said they will introduce the bill before a Feb. 14 deadline for new legislation.

The proposal would make Connecticut only the second state to allow same-sex couples to marry. Massachusetts began allowing gay marriages in 2004, while Connecticut and Vermont allow civil unions. A New Jersey law allowing civil unions takes effect Feb. 22.

A spokesman for Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who signed the civil unions law, said Wednesday that she would veto a gay marriage bill.

"She continues to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman," spokesman Christopher Cooper said. "She believes that the civil unions law ... is the way to go with this."

Although Democrats have a veto-proof majority in both the House and Senate, Lawlor said he wasn't sure if there are enough votes to override a veto. But he believes gay marriage will eventually be approved in Connecticut, saying public opinion polls show that people under 40 overwhelmingly support it.

"This is inevitable," Lawlor said at a news conference at the Legislative Office Building. "If you ask any legislator or public figure or politician on the other side, 'Do you think this is inevitable,' all of them will say, 'Yeah, I do. I don't think it's right, but I think it's inevitable.'"

Before the announcement of the gay marriage proposal, opponents called for a nonbinding statewide referendum on the issue.

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