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Loading ...Vt. Gov. Opposes Gay Marriage Bill
11.21.2008 11:30am EST
(Montpelier, Vermont) Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas says he will oppose legislation allowing same-sex marriages – a move likely to scuttle the bill expected to be introduced in January.
Vermont Senate Majority Leader John Campbell said earlier this week he would file the bill - to amend the state’s civil union law to provide for full marriage – in the new session of the legislature.But Campbell said the measure’s success with fellow lawmakers would depend on the governor’s support.
Douglas said Thursday that civil unions are adequate and that the legislature should be focusing on the economy.
“I think the current civil union law is sufficient,” Douglas said. “It accords equality of rights to Vermonters in terms of their relationships and I think we should leave the law as it is.”
Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force chair Beth Robinson called the governor’s position unfortunate and said it implies he believes lawmakers can only deal with one issue at a time.
“The Legislature can absolutely do more than one thing at once,” Robinson told The Associated Press.
“The notion that working on civil rights takes away from these other issues really is a false one.”
Vermont was the first state in the country to legalize civil unions in 2000. Last year, an 11-member commission was set up by the leaders of the Vermont House and Senate, both Democrats, to look into Vermont’s civil unions law to see if it is providing equality for gay and lesbian couples.
It submitted its report to the legislature in April, but made no recommendations on revising the law to allow for same-sex marriage.
The Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection detailed months of hearings it held throughout the state, where same-sex couples complained they were still discriminated against because employers, hospitals and insurance companies do not see their relationships as the equivalent of marriage.
The commission was chaired by former state Rep. Tom Little (R). Little was chairman of the House Judiciary Committee when it passed the law legalizing civil unions in 2000.
Little said the commission purposely decided not to include recommendations in the report. “That’s a decision for Vermont’s elected officials,” Little said at the time.
A public opinion survey earlier this year found that the majority of people in the state believe gay and lesbian couples should have the right to marry.
Earlier this week, the Boston-based group that won equal marriage rights in Massachusetts and Connecticut announced an ambitious plan to fight for equal marriage throughout New England and predicted success in the four additional states by 2012.
Meanwhile, police are investigating a death threat against Campbell over his gay marriage bill.
The threat was made by an anonymous woman angry over the proposed bill who telephoned Campbell. Campbell said she threatened to blow up his home.
Campbell said the threat was not just against him but also his family.
I think the gay community has been fighting the wrong battle. The nature and definition of marriage are outside the competence of civil authority altogether, for any sexuality. Marriage has very different meaning even among heterosexuals of the same race and religion. Government should recognize nothing but civil unions for anyone. Then we’re all equal under the law. Keep the definition of marriage where it belongs – between the people in the relationship.
I think the gay community has been fighting the wrong battle. The nature and definition of marriage are outside the competence of government altogether, for any sexuality. Marriage has very different meaning even among heterosexuals of the same race and religion. Government should recognize nothing but civil unions for anyone. Then we’re all equal under the law. Keep the definition of marriage where it belongs – between the people in the relationship.
Marriage is already a CIVIL contract, there is NO need to start a needlessly redundant and unnecessary institution just so straights and religious fanatics can hold the patent on the definition of marriage.
Not only that,, every Latin based language has two distinct words for marriage which is the CIVIL institution and the religious institution(aka sacrament) known as matrimony. Marriage is and has always been, long before religious concepts were imposed upon marriage, a CIVIL institution.
Civil unions were invented in 1999 in Vermont as a second class, separate and (un)equal institution for gays. Equal marriage and ONLY equal marriage should be our goal, accepting civil unions for gays or working to make civil unions universal is the absolute last thing we should do. Civil unions are worse than nothing.
I supported both the No on 8 and Florida’s No on 2 campaigns, especially the No on 8 campaign. I flew across the country to help out in No on 8’s office in San Francisco (SFO) As CA is a geographically and demographically large and politically influential trend-setting state that more than any other we GLBTs could not afford to lose. California was the “mother” of all gay marriage battles that both our antigay opponents and we GLBTs were desperate not to lose.
To our opponents losing the CA fight meant in their minds encouragement of unstoppable legal gay marriage all over America and eventually a million gay marriages across the land and progay marriage lawsuits left and right if attempts to stop and/or take away gay marriage occured and to some of us it means a loss of marriage equality in what was one of only 3 states to have it, plus an emboldened enemy out to roll back gay rights whereever they exist.
Fortunately, statewide gay marriage did exist in CA and we gay Americans have had gay marriage there as a precendent fact of life and of law and we will not stop until gay marriage returns to CA state law whether Schwartzeneggar wants to stand up and fight for it to come back or wants to be “a girlie man” and sit on his hands and be a “do-nothing”. Unlike some time ago when he pledged to fight for gay marriage.
As for Vermont, I of course encourage gay Vermonters and their straight allies there to fight for their marriage rights inspite of the fact they know to expect little good their way from a Republican governor who shouldn’t be running a place like Vermont, especially if he is going to be so heartless (as most GOP governors are like my state’s GOP ex-gov. Ehrlich was) and stand in the way of his own citizenry’s needs.
The attorneys of New England based Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders if I got GLAD right are predicting that the last 4 New England states will likely have legal gay marriage by 2012.
Then likely will come gay marriage in New York State and New Jersey. Since New Jersey is already confronting the reality that civil unions aren’t working there, chances are that gay marriage may happen in New Jersey within the next couple years putting pressure on Maryland which has been another scene of an unsuccessful fight for gay marriage.
Maryland gays lost the court battle for gay marriage when Maryland’s highest court reaffirmed Maryland’s existing man-woman standard for marriage in Maryland.
Neighboring Delaware has a DOMA of its own. Hopefully neighboring New Jersey getting gay marriage and Delaware’s growing resident gay beachside population will put the screws to Delaware to scrape its own antigay marriage law and become the 1st state in the upper south and the 2nd state in the Mid-Atlantic region to have gay marriage.
New Jersey is more of a northeastern state as are New York State and New England and is where gay marriage will increase fastest and Delaware and Maryland are both southern states but very moderate southern tempered by MD’s closeness to Pennsylvania and Northern DE’s closeness to New Jersey. Virginia is very southern away from its northern region and hell will freeze over before Virginia gets gay marriage.
I am thankful for Connecticut getting gay marriage as CT is my birthstate and CT brings gay marriage one state closer to New Jersey.
Anyway that’s things look from my perspective from a upper south state with a Mid-Atlantic ocean coast to the east, mountains to the west, a huge bay with a struggling seafood fishery, farmland in the center, north and south, west and east of the state and culturally between north and south. Unlike in Virginia (where smoking is still allowed in restaurants) Gay marriage is one day possible in Maryland (which is modern enough to think of a statewide restaurant smoking ban) but hasn’t reached that point yet.
“Have the government call them all civil unions and leave marriage to the churches.”
You always see this argument come up. And in fact, it’s exactly the way things ought to be. It’s also NEVER going to happen.
Or at least to put things in perspective, you think the battle to get same-sex marriage available to all in the United States is going to be long? Just consider how long it would take to convince a majority of the population to completely give up legal marriage and exchange it for civil unions. I don’t think the kids being born today would see that happening in their lifetimes even if we got started right now.
Rodney Moore,
Why do you call me an Uncle Tom “leader”?
Why are you calling me scummy?
I am merely expressing an opinion as is my right.
Why, Rodney are you so unkind to me for just having an opinion?
This is merely a place for expressing an opinion, what on earth merits people saying ugly things to about each other?
Rodney,
Are crude insults to and about another gay man your technique for stifling discussion and exchange of ideas here even if those ideas are misunderstood by you and/or run counter to your own?
Rodney, there is no justification for or room here for personal attacks on another person and that is what you are doing here to me, Rodney.
Being frustrated and impatient with a poliitical outcome is no reason to be mean to others on this site or to insult and to attack them as you have done to me.
I plan to begin to support Gov. JIm Douglas’s opponent for his office as soon as a good, progay one appears.
Meanwhile, I plan to send letters to him demanding marriage equality for this part of America.
I have never hesitated to write to a past president and to e-mail legislators and governors about gay issues of the time.
So get on it MASS Equality and HRC… put your /our d**** $$$ to some good use other than gala dinners.
Eh…I can deal with civil unions. But in the same it should involve all rights that “marriage” entails. Cuz i’ll be damned if I cant visit my girl in the hospital. Ever see a 4′11″ chick run yeah we’ll end up with more problems. What I mean is, people are going to get fed up and they may turn to not so nice ways of getting to thier loved ones.