Marriage Equality in VT!! Gov. Veto Overridden!

The Vermont Senate voted by a 23-5 margin to override Governor Douglas’ veto.
The Vermont House voted by a 100-49 margin to override Governor Douglas’ veto.

The veto has been overridden!!! Congratulations Vermont!!!

VT Senate Votes to Override Gov. Veto

The Senate took about 10 minutes to override Gov. Douglas’ veto. The vote was 23-5.
The Senate then voted to suspend its rules and message the bill over to the House.

House vote in process…

VT Gov. Vetos & Veto Override Vote Happening this Morning

Listen to the Veto Override Session on VT Public Radio

from the Burlington Free Press:
MONTPELIER — Gov. Jim Douglas vetoed same-sex marriage legislation Monday evening, sending the bill back to the Legislature today, where the votes to override the veto could teeter either way.

Douglas delivered the veto message swiftly, as promised. His veto message was waiting when the bill arrived from the Senate about 5:35 p.m.

The House and Senate are expected to vote today on whether to override. Whether supporters of the legislation can reach the two-thirds majority in the House is a looming question.

“I’m still talking to members and we’re working toward a number that’s two-thirds,” House Speaker Shap Smith, D-Morristown, said at 6 p.m. Monday.

READ THE REST

Vermont House Passes Marriage Equality Bill

Marriage passed in the Vermont House 95-52. It’s 4 votes shy of the votes required to override Gov. Douglas’ threatened veto. Those on the ground are reporting that some “no”-voting House Democrats have indicated that they would vote to override a veto.

The Vermont Senate passed with a veto proof majority last week.

House approves same-sex marriage bill (Burlington Free Press)

S.115 Clears Next Hurdle in Vermont

SEND THIS TO ALL YOUR VERMONT FRIENDS!!
Vermont Freedom to Marry

We’re one step closer! We need YOU to help us press on. Fairness and equality are within our reach. We MUST do the hard work to keep reaching out to our elected leaders to get the job done. We can’t expect our elected Representatives to advocate for us if they don’t see us advocating for ourselves! Spend the day at the Statehouse on Thursday, April 2 (get there by 9 a.m. – read more below).

The House Judiciary Committee voted S.115 out of committee today with a 8-2 vote! The committee made minor amendments to strengthen protections for religious freedom, and to make it clear that the laws only regulate civil marriage. The committee worked hard, listening to lots of testimony on a range of topics from diverse witnesses. Please thank the House Judiciary Committee members who supported this bill. (You can leave a message with the Sgt-at-Arms, 802-828-2228).

The full House is scheduled to hold its first vote on Thursday. The House will be taking up the budget bill first, and it is impossible to predict how long the discussion will take. It could take the better part of the day, or it could move along quickly. In either event, you can be sure that the chamber will fill up quickly. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE HAVE A VISIBLE PRESENCE IN THE ROOM. Plan to spend the day at the Statehouse, and come early in order to claim seats in the chamber.

Please understand that we may have to hold our seats for many hours and watch the budget debate before the marriage bill debate begins. Bring a book. Bring a sandwich. BUT PLEASE MAKE THE TIME TO BE THERE. YOUR REPRESENTATIVES NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU CARE DEEPLY ABOUT THIS VOTE. Please plan to be in the Statehouse by 9am. In the meantime, please help us make a better future for Vermont by volunteering to phone bank, reaching out to your legislators, and donating money.

Vermont Gov. Vows to Veto Marriage Bill

Vermont Governor Jim Douglas announced yesterday that he intends to veto the marriage bill, recently passed by a wide margin in the Senate, once it reaches his desk. The Governor stated the following as his reasoning:

“I believe our civil union law serves Vermont well …” Douglas told a gathering of reporters and onlookers at a hastily called news conference in the Pavilion Building. “I believe that marriage should remain between a man and a woman. … I’m announcing that I intend to veto this legislation when it reaches my desk.”

Currently the bill is awaiting vote in the house and it is unclear whether or not supporters will have the 100 votes needed to override.

‘I intend to veto’ gay marriage (Burlington Free Press)
Full Text of Governor’s Annoucement (Burlington Free Press)
VT Gov. Douglas Issues Marriage Bill Veto Threat (Pam’s House Blend)
Vermont governor says he’d veto same-sex marriage bill (CNN)

Vermont Marriage Bill Senate Vote Expected Today

Vermonters in the field are reporting that the marriage bill will go to the Senate today where it is expected to pass. From there the bill will head to the house, where it has a good chance to pass.

Hoping for a happy Monday for Vermont! We will keep the blog up to date with news as we receive it.

Vermont begins hearings on same-sex marriage bill

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Nine years after it played host to a bitter fight over civil unions, Vermont’s Statehouse is again a gay rights battleground.

More than 200 same-sex marriage opponents, cheering and wearing buttons that read “Marriage — A Mother & Father for Every Child,” converged Monday on Montpelier as lawmakers began a week’s worth of hearings on a bill that would allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. If approved, Vermont would join Massachusetts and Connecticut as the only U.S. states that allow gay marriage.

The measure would replace Vermont’s first-in-the-nation civil unions law with one that allows marriage of same-sex partners beginning Sept. 1. Civil unions, which confer some rights similar to marriage, would still be recognized but no longer granted after Sept. 1. Supporters cast the debate as a civil rights issue, saying a civil unions law enacted by the state in 2000 has fallen short of the equality it promised same-sex couples. Its appeal has declined, too: In 2001, the state granted 1,876 civil unions, compared with only 262 last year.

Passing a gay marriage bill “is one of the most important civil rights issues of our time,” said Greg Johnson, a Vermont Law School professor who testified before the state Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. While the bill won’t guarantee federal benefits, supporters say it would provide societal recognition, improve access to health benefits and eliminate one of two obstacles to federal protections such as Social Security survivor benefits.

Opponents say gay marriage would undermine traditional male-female marriage, rendering men and women interchangeable and destroying the connection between children and marriage. They want the question put to voters in a referendum.

Legislative leaders announced two weeks ago that they intended to pass the bill — titled “An act relating to civil marriage” — before adjourning in May, and they have scheduled hearings to get testimony on the legal, social and practical implications of it.

A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday night at the Capitol, which was the epicenter of the fight in 2000, when the issue divided Vermont and partisans endured hate mail, threatening telephone messages and tense public meetings.

On Monday, opponents organized by churches and a pair of anti-gay marriage groups flooded the hallways of the Capitol and packed into a committee room for a strategy session with Stephen Cable, president of Vermont Renewal.

Supporters wearing lime-green buttons that read “From Legal Rights to Equal Rights” numbered about 50. Beth Robinson, chairwoman of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, said her side was focused on showing its strength in numbers on Wednesday for the public hearing. Robinson, a lawyer who worked on the court case that led to the creation of civil unions, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that civil unions were a “painful compromise” that left gay couples feeling like second-class citizens.

“It’s the fact of that separation itself that does the harm. And that really does affect every member of the community,” she said.

Statehouse security was beefed up for the day, but there were no arrests or problems — other than a scramble for seats in a 60-seat committee room, which forced some people to listen to the hearing from a hallway.

Some were upset they wouldn’t get to vote, saying gay marriage is too important to be decided only by lawmakers.

“We didn’t vote them in to re-engineer society, we elected them in to manage our finances,” said Deborah Billado, a 55-year-old entrepreneur from Essex Junction. “Such a huge issue should go to the people,” said Billado. She wouldn’t say whether she favors gay marriage or not.

Also Monday, a national group launched a radio campaign aimed at marshaling opposition to gay marriage in northern New England.

The “Don’t Mess with Marriage” ads, which will be aired in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, are sponsored by the National Organization for Marriage, a Princeton, N.J., group that has been active in fighting same-sex marriage initiatives in California and elsewhere. (Click here to visit MERI prior post about NOM radio ads that ran in RI.)

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. By JOHN CURRAN