Causecast

By SHANNON FLAHERTY, Contributing Writer

Today, Vermont joins Connecticut, Massachusetts and Idaho as one of four states where gay marriage is now legal. Nine years after Vermont was the first in the United States to adopt a same-sex civil-union law, it is now the first in the nation where gay marriage has been legalized by the legislature versus the courts.

Achieving a two-thirds vote in both the state’s House and Senate, the legislature overrode a veto from Vermont’s Republican Governor Jim Douglas. Douglas had previously vetoed the bill, urging lawmakers to focus on the economy. However, this morning, the Vermont House of Representatives voted 100 – 49 to override the governor’s veto of the marriage equality bill. The Senate passed the override 23 – 5.

GLAD, the New England-based legal group dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression, leads the charge in fighting for same-sex marriage – also referred to as “marriage equality.” GLAD has set a goal of expanding gay marriage to all New England states by 2012.

GLAD worked on the historic case Baker v. Vermont, which resulted in the nation’s first civil union law in 2000. After nearly ten years of civil unions, and with momentum moving toward marriage equality across New England, Vermonters knew it was time for full equality for same-sex couples.

“There’s only one thing truly equal to marriage, and that’s marriage,” said Vermont Representative Johanna Donovan. “Now is the time to give civil unions a respectful burial.”

The success in Vermont strikes a chord in California, where the passage of Proposition 8 during the November 2008 election outlawed gay marriage.

Marriage equality is the civil rights issue of our time. Visit Causecast friends Join The Impact to find a gay marriage event, or to broadcast your own local event on their network.

Though the Proposition 8 protests have subsided in California since the November elections, it’s imperative to keep this issue in the minds of progressives across the country. Write to the California Supreme Court and urge them to throw out this unconstitutional law. Even if the Supreme Court validates Prop 8 but allows current same-sex marriages to stand, it could set the stage for an appeal. Make your voices heard.

Photo by Donnay, flickr