Possibly taking its cue from Iowa’s actions, Vermont has just become the fourth state to legalize gay marriage – and this time it did not require the blunt-force of a Court action.
In a crushing defeat for Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto of an earlier bill allowing gays to marry, the State’s Legislature voted this morning by 23-5 in the Senate and 100-49 in the House to allow civil unions. Vermont law only requires two-thirds of each chamber to vote yes for such a change to succeed.
Vermont was the first state to adopt a gay marriage law, and this new victory comes almost nine years to the day from that seminal move, according to CBS News.
The enlightened members of the Vermont legislature have now enabled their beautiful state to join Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa in approval of equal rights for gay couples. If this wonderful sequence of divisive legislation collapsing like dominoes could reach California, the sigh of relief among those now repressed here would be heard and welcomed all over the world.
