I'm Getting Married in the Morning! - Page Three
Vermont Marriage Decision Page> 1, 2, 3
Dateline: 12/20/99
The Future
Today's ruling cannot be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court since the Vermont court based its decision on the state Constitution. The Vermont Supreme Court is the state's only appeals court.
Vermont Gov. Howard Dean had declined to state a position on same sex marriages, saying that he was awaiting the decision of the court. But both the lieutenant governor, Douglas Racine, and the speaker of the Vermont House, Michael Obuchowski, have said they favor same sex marriages.
Is it Enough?
The odds are that this is the beginning of the battle in Vermont, not the end. Opponents of gay civil rights will quite probably seek to place on the ballot a measure in an attempt to circumvent the Court's ruling. Whether the Supreme Court of Vermont can be as easily moved from doing what is right remains an open question.
Also, the legislature may not move quickly. In other words, don't move to Vermont today expecting equal rights as a gay or lesbian couple tomorrow.
Additionally, do we want something that is equal yet different - as domestic partnership legislation would be?
As Therese Jansen, the Producer of Lesbian Worlds noted, "If it's not the same thing the right can be as easily taken away as it was given."
Frankly, I want the equal rights - but if my relationship walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it should also be called a duck. Calling it something different to appease those who are not yet ready to enter the 21st century puts a bad taste in my mouth and belies the rational of the court's ruling: the concept of equal civil rights.
In Pride,
Deborah