The winter storms which assaulted the East didn't keep up to 1,500 Vermonters from crowding the statehouse Tuesday to debate legalizing homosexual marriage, a month after the state Supreme Court ruled denying gays benefits enjoyed by married heterosexuals was unconstitutional.
Whether to legalize gay marriage or set up a separate domestic partnership system is now in the hands of the state legislature. Tuesday's crowd featured some wearing buttons saying "Don't Mock Marriage" and others saying, "I Support The Freedom To Marry." Congress and thirty states have passed laws barring gay marriage.
Opponents of gay marriage say marriage isn't exactly a civil right, while gay activists say anything short of marriage would compare to the separate-but-equal laws blacks battled during the height of the civil rights movement, Conservative News Service says.
Less than half the 1,500 could get inside the House chamber where two committees gave them their first chance to comment on the high court ruling, Nando Times says.
"Vermont is famous for maple syrup, cheese, scenic beauty and traditional values," said Ruth Goodrich during the debate, which Nando calls "civil, but emotional." Lee Moffatt of Colchester said during the debate that he and his male partner deserve the same rights as opposite sex couples. "I, too, represent the face of Vermont," he said.
Chris Bixby said he opposed gay marriage and the voters should decide the issue, though he added he believed homosexual's personal freedom should be protected.
"I want to sit anywhere on the bus I choose to sit," said Laurie Morrison, referring to the comparison of domestic partnerships to separate-but-equal.
The state House Judiciary Committee, Nando Times says, expects to begin drafting a bill on the issue by early next month and hopes to get it through the House by early March, giving the state Senate about a month to review it before the legislature takes a mid-April adjournment.
