Vermont’s governor on April 26 signed into law landmark legislation granting the full benefits of marriage to homosexual and lesbian couples in the state, prompting warnings from opponents that it could spawn similar legislation in other states.
Gov. Howard Dean signed the bill into law during a closed-door meeting with supporters following a 79-68 vote by the Vermont House April 25 and a 19-11 Senate vote April 19.
“I think it is a courageous and powerful statement about who we are in the state of Vermont,” said Dean, a Democrat. “I also believe that this legislation speaks to the heart of this state, and certainly to my heart.”
Family groups believe Vermont’s “civil unions” law will have a negative impact on the state and may be used to undermine marriage laws across the country.
Janet Parshall, chief spokeswoman for the Family Research Council, decried the lawmakers’ action.
“This is ‘gay marriage’ in everything but name, and it is a direct assault on society’s most essential institution,” Parshall said.
“We hope at least to establish residency requirement and broaden the bill so that it’s not sex-based,” Craig Bensen, vice president of Take It to the People, told CNSNews.com after a closed-door meeting with the bill’s opponents.
Take It to the People is one of the largest grassroots groups opposed to civil unions, with a membership of approximately 15,000.
Under the U.S. Constitution’s full faith and credit clause, same-sex couples from out-of-state may use civil union certificates obtained in Vermont after July 1, when the bill goes into effect, to challenge marriage laws passed in other states.
Robert Knight, of the Family Research Council, told the Rutland (Vt.) Herald the new law will not help homosexuals.
“It creates the fiction that what they are doing is normal and healthy,” said Knight.
The Vermont Supreme Court ruled unanimously in December that the denial of rights and benefits of marriage to gay couples was unconstitutional. The Legislature opted to create a parallel system for gay couples instead of broadening marriage statutes to include homosexuals.
The civil unions are not recognized under federal law, which means gay couples cannot receive benefits bestowed by the government in areas such as immigration and Social Security.
The Vermont decision follows decisions in several other states against same sex unions.
The West Virginia Legislature approved a measure March 11 banning homosexual marriages and prohibiting the state from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.
In New Hampshire, the House of Representatives defeated a bill March 29 that would have prohibited the state from legally recognizing same-sex unions recognized in other states, according to The Associated Press.
On March 8 California voters approved a ballot measure that prohibits state recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states. (Compiled from wire services)
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