CIVIL RIGHTS The Rising Tide For Marriage Equality Yesterday, the Vermont legislature
voted to recognize same-sex marriage, making Vermont
the fourth state in the country to take such a step and the first to do so through the legislative process. On the same day, the Washington DC council
voted 12-0 "to
recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states." These actions come just six days after the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously
affirmed the right of same-sex couples to marry. As the Center for American Progress Action Fund's Winnie Stachelberg noted, Vermont's vote "
highlights the growing consensus in American public opinion in support of relationship recognition for same-sex couples." Indeed, legislation granting same-sex coupes the right to marry is also being debated in
New Hampshire, Maine, and New Jersey, while section three of the Defense of Marriage Act, which
denies same-sex couples federal retirement and health care benefits,
is being challenged in Massachusetts. "I think we're going to look back at this week as a moment when our entire country turned a corner," said Jennifer Pizer, the national marriage project director for the advocacy group Lambda Legal. "Each time there's an important step forward, it makes it
easier for others to follow."
VERMONT OVERRIDES A VETO: Last week, the two houses of Vermont's legislature
voted to pass the marriage equality bill, which was
then vetoed by Gov. Jim Douglas ® on Monday. However, the legislature
overrode the veto, with the bill passing Vermont's Senate 23-5 and House 100-49. Several House members who voted against the legislation last week
switched sides to support the override. Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin (D) said, "Vermont legislators
did the right thing by overriding Governor Douglas’ veto and granting equal rights to all Vermonters. The struggle for equal rights is never easy." He added that "I have never felt more proud as we become the first state in the country to enact marriage equality not as the result of a court order, but because
it is the right thing to do." "People
saw this as an equality issue, and we’re proud that Vermont has led the way without a court order to provide equal benefits," said State Rep. Margaret Cheney (D). The passage of the bill "came nine years after Vermont adopted its
first-in-the-nation civil unions law."
IOWA CITES EQUAL PROTECTION: The state's Supreme Court found that "limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman
violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution," adding that protecting the right to same-sex marriage is
comparable to past rulings by the Iowa Supreme Court that protected women's rights and struck down slavery and segregation laws. "This issue comes to us with the
same importance as our landmark cases of the past," wrote the court. "How can a state premised on the constitutional principle of equal protection
justify exclusion of a class of Iowans from civil marriage?" The court also directly addressed concerns that its decision would trample on religious views of marriage, writing that "a religious denomination
can still define marriage as a union between a man and a woman." Rep. Steve King (R-IA) decried the decision, saying that "the logical approach to this — to get something that we can do -- I think is to pass a constitutional amendment
to correct the court." However, State Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal (D) said that
there will be no debate in the this session on such an amendment.
THE RIGHT-WING RESPONDS: King also pressed for immediate action to prevent Iowa from becoming
a "Mecca" for gay couples.
"[T]he legislature must also enact marriage license residency requirements so that Iowa does not become the gay marriage Mecca due to the Supreme Court's latest experiment in social engineering," said King. He was not alone in his outrage. Immediately after the Vermont legislature made its decision, conservatives railed against the "
wealthy homosexual activists" who they claim are driving a "form of tyranny" aimed at dismantling "democracy."
"Same-sex 'marriage' is a movement driven by wealthy homosexual activists and a liberal elite determined to destroy not only the institution of marriage, but democracy as well," said Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. "The consequences will rest on their shoulders and upon those passive objectors who know what to do but lack the courage to
stand against this form of tyranny," added the Liberty Council's Matthew Staver. Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, went so far as to claim that Vermont's vote "
clearly goes against the peoples understanding of marriage. Common sense and basic democratic norms dictate that such an important question should have gone directly to the voters of Vermont." But as David Catania, a D.C. City Council member who voted for the amendment to recognize marriage equality noted, the votes in D.C. and Vermont represented "
super majorities of the elected leadership in both jurisdictions."