Vermont: Gay Marriage passes State Senate 26 to 4 by terjeanderson
Mon Mar 23, 2009 at 02:37:44 PM PDT
This afternoon (Monday, March 23) the Vermont State Senate passed S. 115, legislation for civil marriage equality by a vote of 26 to 4.
The 23 Democrats in the Senate voted for the bill by a 22 to 1 margin, while the 7 Republicans split 4 to 3 in favour of the bill. (In how many states would a majority of Republicans vote for marriage equality?)...
SNIP
...Unlike the very heated and emotional debate that surrounded the passage of civil unions in 2000, the Senate debate was remarkably level-headed and respectful...
...Perhaps the biggest unexpected "hero" of this vote is Senator Kevin Mullin - Republican from Rutland County. Mullin is a fairly conservative Republican, and Rutland County has a fairly well organized and vocal opposition to the bill. Mullin is a member of the Judiciary Committee and supporters thought he would probably vote against the bill -- his yes vote there meant the Judiciary Committee returned a bipartisan, unanimous vote on the bill. During this debate, one of Senator Mullin's sons came out in a letter to the Rutland Herald thanking his father for the vote. The right wing opponents of the bill have now said that they will be singling out and targeting Mullin for defeat in the Republican primary next year.
Of course the real heroes of this are the members of the LGBT community and our allies who have done great grassroots organizing and public education on this issue for years. Major credit goes to the incredible Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force who have been leading this fight for more than a decade. And more credit is also due to the Senate and House Democratic leadership (Senator Peter Shumlin and House Speaker Shap Smith) who decided to make passage of the bill a priority for this session.
The bill now goes to a pro forma "Third Reading" tomorrow morning in the Senate. It will then be sent to the House, where the Judiciary Committee (chaired by openly gay Representative Bill Lippert) will hold hearing and vote on the bill in about a week. Passage is expected in the House.
The biggest remaining question is what Republican Governor Jim Douglas will do -- while he has opposed the bill, he has not said that he will veto it. (He could let it become law without signing). The 4 Republican Senators voting for the bill may make it easier for him to sign it, , and harder to veto.
Public support for marriage equality in Vermont is strong - a poll by Macro in January showed 58% supported or leaned to support, with 39% opposed or leaned to opposition. In the same poll only 22% said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supported same-sex marriage equality. So unlike many other states, being against marriage equality is the politically more risky position to take.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/3/23/712130/-Vermont:-Gay-Marriage-passes-State-Senate-26-to-4
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