VERMONT FIRST AGAIN!

It was announced this morning that with a House vote of 100-49 and a Senate vote of 23-5 the Vermont legislature did, indeed, have enough votes to override Republican Governor Jim Douglas's promised veto. This makes Vermont the fourth state to legalize gay marriage, joining Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa.

Although Vermont isn't the first state to officially legalize gay marriage, IT IS the first state in the Union to do it willingly by a vote of its legislators! As you may recall from past articles, in 2000 Vermont also became the first state in the country to offer Civil Unions.

Unfortunately (or maybe in this case - fortunately), those Civil Unions only offered some of the benefits automatically given to straight couples. Now, according to PinkNews.co.uk, although Vermont can not guarantee federal benefits to same-sex couples, it does grant access to the same Social Security benefits available to straight married couples. It also makes it possible to claim joint health insurance and make emergency medical decisions on behalf of their partners, among many other benefits and privileges not possible under Civil Unions.

Of course, opponents argued that the bill would undermine traditional marriage, render men and women interchangeable and destroy the connection between children and marriage. Their usual litany of lies and fear tactics so often repeated over and over again. But, thanks to the examples set by Massachusetts and the other nation-states around the world that have had gay marriage in place for years, fewer and fewer people are listening.

In fact, polls taken in Vermont have shown that citizens were in favor of the move.

Just this past March, a poll of 7,000 Vermont citizens showed that 54 per cent supported gay marriage, while only 37 per cent were opposed. A smaller survey taken in January suggested that 58 per cent were in favour of or leaning towards gay marriage.

Let's all take a moment right now to close our eyes and concentrate very deeply on projecting these last two amazing marriage victories directly into the minds of the California State Supreme Court Justices. Who knows - the power of mind over matter and all that. Certainly, strangers things have happened this year - and we're not even half way through it yet!

VERMONT'S GAY MARRIAGE FIGHT GETS MORE CONFUSING

Republican Governor James Douglas said just a couple of days ago that he "wouldn't sign" the gay marriage bill, leaving the door open for it to become law without his signature.

Yesterday however, Governor Douglas made a very public statement saying that if the bill does reach his desk, he would not sign it. This in spite of the fact that it received an overwhelming majority vote of 26-4 in the State Senate.

According to WCAX TV news, Douglas went on to reiterate the same flawed argument he's used before:

"I believe marriage has always been and ought to remain the union of a man and a woman. I believe the civil unions law has offered equal rights and benefits under state law to same-sex couples and that should suffice."

As I pointed out in my original March 13th story, contrary to Douglas' statement, in the nine years since civil unions were approved, there have been numerous and persistent problems with businesses, hospitals and even government agencies recognizing the legality of those unions.

To further dilute Douglas' logic, the 182 clergy members who came out in support of the bill said in their March 12th statement:

We recognize that a separate system that legally recognizes same-gender couples creates a harmful stigma for those we support and love in our community. Although civil union protections have remedied some of the financial and legal inequities, the denial to participate in the status of civil marriage is a social injustice that fractures our communities, harms those we love and sends a message of government sanctioned discrimination."

Despite the governor's opposition, this bill is not dead yet. Over the next week it will be debated in the house and a vote there will determine whether or not there are enough votes in both houses to override Douglas' veto. The senate's vote has already shown that the needed 2/3 majority is clearly present there. The house however is not a done deal yet. Which is probably why Douglas came out with his statement much earlier than he usually would have. Obviously he's trying to influence the house vote.

However, in a very curious, if not schizophrenic statement, WCAX TV reported that Governor Douglas also said:

...he thinks Democratic leaders would not have advanced the bill if they did not have enough votes to override a veto, but because the issue is so personal and divisive legislative leaders say there's no guarantee. But of course Douglas acknowledged he will have no choice but to accept same-sex marriages if the house can get the numbers.

Does this mean that the governor is simply playing politics to placate his voter base but really wants to see this bill passed? I hope that's the case. More importantly, with all the strong support this bill has gotten outside of the political arena, I hope that enough house representatives see it that way too and go ahead and pass the bill with more than a 2/3 majority.

Obviously, the success or failure of this bill now rests entirely in the state's House of Representatives.

Of course, I'll keep you posted. I need to go take an aspirin now.

VERMONT SENATE COMMITTEE UNANIMOUSLY PASSES GAY MARRIAGE BILL

UPDATE 3/24/09...
365gay.com reported this morning that the Vermont Senate just passed the same-sex marriage bill by a vote of 26-4. This overwhelming majority vote means that the bill will now move to the House where it is also expected to pass.

Unfortunately, Republican Governor James Douglas has already chastised the legislature for spending time on the bill when it should be focused on the economy. He said that he believes the civil union law is sufficient for same-sex couples - even though that's been proven not to be the case. In fact, as I outlined in my first article, testimony by mental health experts, social workers and clergy have all agreed that allowing gay couples to marry validates their relationships, could reduce discrimination and increases benefits for the families.

There is, however, a glimmer of hope since Governor Douglas has not said outright that he intends to veto this bill. Hopefully, the strong legislative support it has received and the publicity it has garnered will prove to be enough for him to change his mind and sign it.

I'll keep you posted.


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Last Friday I reported on the Gay Marriage bill being debated in Vermont's Senate Judiciary Committee.

I ended my report on a very hopeful note. I believed that the strong testimonies of mental health experts and clergy, who all countered the religious right's argument that same-sex marriage is detrimental to children by exposing their lies and distortions of facts, would help get the bill out of committee and passed by the full senate.

Well, my hopes were not only realized but surpassed. This morning Queers United and Pink News (out of the U.K.) both reported that the bill was passed unanimously by a reassuring vote of 5-0.

The full senate is scheduled to vote on the bill next Monday, March 23rd at 3:00pm.

QU is requesting that since this is the last opportunity to express your support, please - even if you have done so in the past - call and/or email your state senator and urge him or her to vote in favor of this bill.

If you live in Vermont, you can get the email address and phone number of your representative by going to: http://www.vtfreetomarry.org/senate.html.

As I reported last Friday, in 2000 Vermont became the first state to pass civil unions. Now, if passed (which I fully expect to happen), Vermont will join Massachusetts and Connecticut and become the third state to legally recognize gay marriages.

VERMONT GAY MARRIAGE ENDORSED BY MENTAL HEALTH EXPERTS AND CLERGY

In two separate stories published by The Advocate, same-sex marriage rights in Vermont got a double dose of support.

Mental Health Experts Endorse Same-Sex Marriage...
On March 10th, The Advocate reported that leading mental health and human services organizations in Vermont, citing professional studies that show legalizing gay marriage helps the children of same-sex couples, came out in support of marriage equality.

The group says allowing gay couples to marry validates their relationships, could reduce discrimination and increases benefits for the families.

Opponents have argued that gay marriage is detrimental to children. But mental health experts say studies show that's not true and that opponents are instead misrepresenting studies about divorced parents.

In an interview on WCAX-TV in Burlington, Jackie Weinstein of the University of Vermont’s Human Development and Families Studies said:

"We felt it was important for us to set the record straight about the scholarly literature in our field, and we have lots of different families and the best thing to do for all children is to support parents the best way we can."

The Vermont legislature is currently considering a same-sex marriage bill that was introduced in February. The bill has 59 sponsors in the house and next week, the senate judiciary committee will begin holding hearings and testimony.

The mental health and human services organizations - which include Vermont Psychological Association, the Vermont Psychiatric Association, the Vermont Association of Mental Health Counselors, and the Vermont chapter of the National Association of Social Workers - will all testify in support of same-sex marriage at those hearings.

In 2000 Vermont became the first state to pass civil unions but, in the nine years since, there have been numerous problems with businesses, hospitals and even government agencies recognizing the legality of those unions.

Let's face it folks - separate will NEVER be equal.


182 CLERGY COME OUT IN SUPPORT OF GAY MARRIAGE...
On March 12th, The Advocate reported that 182 Vermont clergy members representing nine religious denominations have signed a declaration in support of same-sex marriage in Vermont.

Their declaration reads, in part,

“As religious people, clergy, and leaders, we commit ourselves to public action, visibility, and education to support the right and freedom of same-gender couples to participate in civil marriage. We oppose the application of sacred texts and religious traditions for the purpose of denying legal and social equity to same-gender couples.

We recognize that a separate system that legally recognizes same-gender couples creates a harmful stigma for those we support and love in our community. Although civil union protections have remedied some of the financial and legal inequities, the denial to participate in the status of civil marriage is a social injustice that fractures our communities, harms those we love and sends a message of government sanctioned discrimination."

To read the whole declaration, go to: http://eqfed.org/campaign/declaration

Hopefully, this kind of strong support from both the professional and religious communities will help convince Vermont lawmakers to finally pass full marriage equality.

I personally think it will.