No one oversees CT's justices of the peace. Critics say that has to change By Joshua Eaton, Brianna Gurciullo, Brian Lockhart, Staff Writers, October 9, 2025 BRIDGEPORT — Scores of immigrants travel to Bridgeport each month, often from out of state, to marry U.S. citizens in quick ceremonies at a downtown city office building, an investigation by CT Insider found. The brief ceremonies are performed by justices of the peace — officials authorized under state law to officiate marriages at their own discretion. The marriages have sparked concerns about immigration fraud and the potential exploitation of both the citizens and the immigrants involved. At least one Bridgeport marriage has led to a criminal conviction for immigration fraud. There’s no indication justices of the peace have engaged in any wrongdoing with respect to any of these marriages. But concerns about lax oversight have prompted calls from some lawmakers to reform the justice of the peace program ...
By Joshua Eaton, Brianna Gurciullo, Brian Lockhart JPus Managing Member Loretta Jay was consulted on this story for both background and commentary. BRIDGEPORT — It was a cold morning in late February. Outside of government center in downtown Bridgeport, a large group of people — men in one cluster and women in another — gathered around a woman in a light gray sweatsuit. As the woman looked at her phone, she appeared to be pairing them off. Once they were matched up, the couples went inside to wait silently in a long line at the city office that issues marriage licenses, with little, if any, conversation between them. Before long, they left the line and gathered in the lobby in two groups — men with men, women with women. The scene was part of a pattern CT Insider has seen dozens of times at government center in recent months: Couples — smartly dressed ...
10 years ago, SCOTUS said same-sex couples could marry. Why do they worry today? The Christian Science Monitor published the following after a collaboration with the Justice of the Peace Association exploring couples' fears that same sex marriage is in jeopardy. May 08, 2025, 10:58 Boston; and Cumberland and Cranston, R.I. By Cameron Pugh Staff writer. Like many brides, Yara Damascena was nervous on her wedding day. Excited, but nervous. She’d never been one to search for the spotlight or vie to be the center of attention. But when she saw her wife-to-be, Iliana, everything else – the people, the camera, the nerves – fell away. “I just looked at her,” Yara says, describing the moment she walked down the aisle. “I didn’t even see anyone there, to be honest. It felt like it was just me and her.” The Damascenas say they love each other deeply. Yet their decision to ...
Bridgeport grapples with city hall marriage glut, unregulated justices of the peace By Brian Lockhart, Staff Writer BRIDGEPORT — Councilman Jorge Cruz has a simple solution to the issue of justices of the peace conducting business in the Margaret Morton Government Center on Broad Street. "Don't do marriages at city hall. Come up with another place," Cruz said. Mayor Joe Ganim's administration has begun grappling with problems involving weddings at the government center, where couples go to obtain a marriage license from the vital records office off of the first-floor lobby. Ganim's new chief administrative officer, Thomas Gaudett, on Monday issued a memorandum warning municipal employees who are also justices of the peace or religious officials that they cannot officiate over couples' unions while on the clock. Gaudett said he was prompted to act by complaints he and his predecessor, Janene Hawkins, received about several Bridgeport staffers, who he declined to name. But ...
Brewer lawmaker revives effort to ban child marriage in Maine The legislation by Rep Kevin O'Connell is part of a broader push to eliminate child marriage in the United States, and elsewhere, to prevent the exploitation of minors, especially girls. By Randy Billings, Staff Writer A Brewer lawmaker is trying again to end child marriages in Maine. State law allows 16- and 17-year-olds to wed with parental consent, similar to state laws in about half of the country. But a bill proposed by Rep. Kevin O'Connell, a Democrat, would prohibit anyone under 18 from getting married, whether parents approve or not. The bill is part of a broader effort to eliminate child marriage in the United States, and elsewhere, to prevent the exploitation of minors, especially girls. A small but growing number of states have eliminated the right of minors to marry under any circumstances. O'Connell proposed a similar bill ...
