Gay Marriage Ruling Ended Long Journey Of Soul

For years, Beth Kerrigan tried to talk herself out of being gay.

The daughter of devout Irish Catholics, Kerrigan kept her sexuality a secret from her family. She pretended the boys she windsurfed, skied and biked with were boyfriends. If female friends confided in her about their male infatuations, Kerrigan listened, never dishing about her own crush on a female teacher.

When Kerrigan's mother found out that Kerrigan was gay, she said she would disown her if Kerrigan didn't "stop" being a lesbian. Her sister told her not to visit because it would upset the family.

So Kerrigan tried to "cure" herself through book research and therapy. But over time, acceptance found its way into Kerrigan's life. She found a soul mate. Her family eventually came around, accepting Kerrigan's longtime partner, Jody Mock, and their 6-year-old twin boys.

And now, with its historic ruling Friday legalizing same-sex marriage, the state Supreme Court says they can marry.

The much-anticipated ruling said that to deny same-sex couples the protections, benefits and obligations heterosexual couples have in marriage is unconstitutional. Connecticut is the third state to legalize same-sex marriage. Massachusetts' highest court in November 2003 ruled that gays and lesbians had a right under the state constitution to wed. In May, the California Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriage. See Gay Marriage Ruling Ended Long Journey Of Soul
Hartford Courant, United States