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"Gestapo thuggery"
Alan Keyes triangulates his thoughts between the Nazi Germany, Waco and Janet Reno on Fox News, while Miami's police chief quits.
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[04/29/00]

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[04/28/00]

El Pescador speaks
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[04/28/00]

"My only regret"
Daniel Ellsberg reflects on the role the Pentagon Papers played in ending the war, and says he wishes he'd released them years earlier.
By Daryl Lindsey
[04/28/00]

Today's Elián sound bite
As the battle of images becomes a war of words, we bring you the quote of the day on the González saga.
By Daryl Lindsey
[04/27/00]

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But passage of the monumental law was an uphill battle, with lawmakers in the state -- better known for Ben and Jerry's and its ice cream flavors inspired by acid-addled hippies and rockers -- facing firebrand conservatives, who predicted the "moral rot" would transform the Green Mountain State into a cow-dotted Sodom, and widespread disapproval among voters they will face in November.

On Tuesday, the Vermont House of Representatives voted 79-68 to approve the Civil Unions Act, granting same-sex couples the 300-plus traditional marriage benefits controlled by the state -- including the right to make medical decisions on behalf of partners, inheritance protections and exemption from having to testify against one another.

"This is a breathtaking advance," said Mary Bonauto, co-counsel for the three same-sex couples who successfully sued the state in 1997 after being denied marriage licenses. "It's going to make an enormous difference in the lives of people on a day-to-day basis. It goes far beyond any kinds of protections we've ever seen for the families of same-sex couples."

Come July, gay couples will be able to obtain civil union licenses from town clerks, and then, just as marriages are solemnized, have a justice of the peace, clergy member or judge certify the union. After Jan. 1, couples will receive certain tax and insurance privileges from the state. And, if worse comes to worst, couples seeking to dissolve the union will have to take their case to family court, as do married couples seeking a divorce.

What Vermont's civil unions won't provide are the federal benefits that come with traditional marriage, including those associated with taxes, Social Security and immigration. Nor will they be recognized outside the state.

In enacting the legislation, lawmakers answered the mandate of the Vermont Supreme Court, which held unanimously in December that denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry was discriminatory under the state's constitution. The ruling required state legislators to enact a law that would either permit gay couples to marry or create a parallel system that granted all the marital benefits and protections a state can provide. Faced with widespread opposition to same-sex marriage, lawmakers responded by drafting legislation for civil unions that is far broader in scope than any domestic partnership in the world.

As Paula Ettelbrick, family policy director for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute, pointed out, Vermont has "separated the baggage of marriage -- the gendered, historical, cultural and religious baggage -- from the benefits and looked at what the government's obligation is. They've taken what has been a very moralized institution and made it into something civil, in political terms."

Though gay rights advocates celebrated the legislation, lawmakers on both sides of the issue were uneasy. The debate over same-sex marriages has captivated Vermont for months, stirring tempers and deeply galvanizing the state, which is better known for its bucolic landscape and "good fences make good neighbors" philosophy than acrimony. For weeks, the tiny statehouse in Montpelier was packed to overflowing as thousands of impassioned voters -- decked out in pink stickers (pro-civil unions) and white ribbons (anti) gathered to hear public testimony.

At times, angry words turned into angry actions. Several legislators reported that their cars had been vandalized, while others, tired of encountering obscene gestures, removed their legislative license plates. At times, normally civil public meetings descended into shouting matches, where lawmakers favoring the measure were booed into silence. Lawmakers were bombarded with phone calls and letters from opponents of the bill, who asserted that the elected reps were headed for fiery climes if they voted in favor of gay marriage. Likewise, opponents of the measure reported that they were unfairly labeled bigots, homophobes and traitors to their community's values.

In a recent interview on Vermont Public Television, Gov. Howard Dean called the issue "the most difficult thing I have had to deal with" in nearly nine years in office.

But beyond the predictable rhetoric that civil unions would cause irreparable damage to the state's moral fiber and lure future generations into homosexuality, something unusual happened. In an election year (all of the seats in the legislature are up for grabs in November), many lawmakers ignored the pollsters and voted their consciences. It was a politically bold and dangerous move, since Vermont polls show that only 37 percent support civil unions, with 40 percent opposing them. A mere 13 percent of Vermonters support full-fledged same-sex marriage.

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