Leaders of the Connecticut Bar Association were on the winning side of the legal fight for federal benefits for same-sex couples last week, when a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a federal law defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman is unconstitutional.
CBA President Barry Hawkins was pleased that an amicus brief in which his and other Connecticut bar groups requested “heightened equal protection scrutiny for gay and lesbian couples” was mentioned in the Windsor v. United States decision. In August, Hawkins raised some eyebrows among bar members who did not think the CBA should step into the fray when he urged the Board of Governors sign onto the amicus.
