Vermont legalizes gay marriage

[rm]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/04/07/us/AP-GayMarriage-Vermont.html

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- Vermont has become the fourth state to legalize gay marriage -- and the first to do so with a legislature's vote.

The Legislature voted Tuesday to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of a bill allowing gays and lesbians to marry. The vote was 23-5 to override in the state Senate and 100-49 to override in the House. Under Vermont law, two-thirds of each chamber had to vote for override.

Comments

[jendaby.livejournal.com]

This is awesome!!!! Let's hope this trend continues throughout the country! :)

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

In a sense it already has - Iowa has moved to defeat an attempted counterattack at the pro-gay-marriage court decision.

[imaginarycircus.livejournal.com]

\o/

[herself_nyc]

Wonderful!

[dsudis.livejournal.com]

YAY VERMONT!

[tacky-tramp.livejournal.com]

OMG! I didn't think they'd have the votes to override the veto! :D

[rm.livejournal.com]

Me neither!

I love how close it comes after Iowa too (maybe that swayed some people?) because it creates a sense of momentum even the slow people can understand.

[mneme]

Wow. Yay, Vermont!

[lanning.livejournal.com]

Oh, YES, this makes me happy! I wasn't expecting this from Vermont, or Iowa, but the surprise makes the news even better. :D

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

I was expecting it.
Most people in the U.S. just want things to be fair, they've just never had a chance to think about it. Politicians and judges have a chance to think about it, and sometimes they do.
There are very few places in the U.S. where people are actually politically to the right of Spain.(Which legalised same sex marriage slightly before Canada did.)

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Vermont. I am going to learn your State song, then I am going to give you a big kiss!
They voted on it! The Republicans will deny that anyone ever voted on it(just as the Neo-cons do here,) but they voted on it! Democracy!

I love it when a plan comes together.

[tod-hollykim.livejournal.com]

Woohooo! And the list grows! ::does horribly embarassing Victory booty dance!::

[dulcinbradbury.livejournal.com]

Yay Vermont!

Now come on NY -- get your head out of your ass!

[cantkeepsilent.livejournal.com]

Not until after redistricting. But we get half-credit, because our courts have affirmed that same-sex marriages performed in other states are valid in New York. From anywhere in the state, you can get up in the morning, drive to Massachusetts, get married, have lunch, drive back home, have a ceremony with your friends and family, and have dinner at the reception.

[evil_plotbunny]

Yay, Vermont!

[tommx.livejournal.com]

Fantastic news yet again.

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

Go VT!

[dramedy.livejournal.com]

YAY!!

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

Hells to the yes. Take that, Gov. Douglas.

Funny aside: Either Saturday or Sunday (I think Sunday) I was out with Joe and we ended up behind a car with a "Got Vermont" sticker and a couple of others, including a McCain-Palin sticker.

I kind of want to find that car now. And gloat.

[misch.livejournal.com]

I'm kinda earwormed with Kate Campbell's song "Crazy In Alabama" (google)

:-)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness, what is going on? But awesome!

[onemildrat.livejournal.com]

A personal tidbit from me -- the original lawsuit which started this whole thing was launched from the Middlebury offices of Langrock, Sperry and Wool. At that same time I owned a store in Middlebury whose lease was handled by Langrock. So this almost literally began in my backyard.

Extra tidbit, ironic -- Jim Douglas is orignally from Middlebury.

I should also note that Vermont is the one state never visited by George Bush and the first to go for Obama in 2008. So, yeah, we bad.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Pardon this ignorant foreigner's provincial ignorance, but isn't one of your Senators an openly social democratic independent?
You're bad! You're bad!
(Now I has ear-worm.)

[baxaphobia.livejournal.com]

I read this this morning and was very happy. I couldn't believe it was an issue in Vt!

[eac.livejournal.com]

I love seeing this moving forward state by state.

And now if we could just get California back in order. :/

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

You know, I wonder if the fact that Prop 8 happened is part of the reason all of this is happening. We damn near got same-sex marriage passed this year and a big part of it was wanting to "beat" CA to the punch. At this rate, we may still do it...

The momentum created in the movement from such a stunning loss in CA can't be discounted as insignificant in these cases. Also, it makes it less a liberal coasts deal, lets other states do it without feeling like they're being ham stringed into it.

At least, that's the silver lining I see from my perch in a Fly Over State.

Reason #113 I'm glad I don't work in an office:

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

I just started crying all over the place.

Thank you, World. Thank you.

[graene.livejournal.com]

I am really happy, but also sad that I have no hope for NC ever following suit until federal law forces them into it.

[thunderemerald.livejournal.com]

VERMONT IS MADE OF THE WIN!

[cozzene.livejournal.com]

I didn't read all the comments, but any news how this is going to effect previous Civil Unions that occurred in VT?

[rm.livejournal.com]

I assume there will be no change, but there will probably be an easy way to convert the status of the things.

[angstzeit.livejournal.com]

Always liked Vermont.