Conn. committee passes 'gay marriage' bill

HARTFORD, Conn. (BP)--A Connecticut legislative committee approved a bill April 12 that would legalize "gay marriage," putting the state on an uncertain path that could make it the second in the nation to grant marriage licenses to homosexuals.

Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, though, has said she would veto it.

The bill passed the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 26-15 and now goes to the House of Representatives where its prospects are uncertain, the Associated Press reported. The committee is made up of members of the House and Senate, both of which are controlled by Democrats.

Just two years ago, Rell signed into law a civil unions bill granting homosexual couples all the state legal benefits of marriage. But homosexual activists said that wasn't enough.

"This bill would not give a couple any rights that they do not already have under the civil union legislation we passed two years ago," said Republican state Rep. T.R. Rowe, who opposed the bill, the AP reported. "The federal government and states that do not recognize civil unions will not recognize ... same-sex marriages performed in Connecticut."

It was only the second time that a legislative committee in America had passed a "gay marriage" bill. California was the first. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill in 2005.

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Compiled by Michael Foust