The bill, however, was opposed by Republican Governor Jim Douglas, who vetoed it as soon as it arrived on his desk. Despite the wide margins by which it was passed, whether the supporters could override the Governor's veto, which would require a 2/3 vote in both chambers, was by no means certain.

Sponsor Message.

On April 7, the Senate, as expected, overwhelmingly approved the override. After a tense debate in the House, where the vote was expected to be very close to the number needed, the House voted 100 to 49--the precise number needed--to override the veto.

Following the vote to override Governor Douglas's veto, Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin declared "The struggle for equal rights is never easy. I was proud to be President of the Senate nine years ago when Vermont led the country by creating civil unions. Today is another historic day for Vermont and I have never felt more proud as we become the first state in the country to enact marriage equality not as the result of a court order, but because it is the right thing to do."

When the bill took effect on September 1, 2009, Vermont became the fourth state to offer equal marriage rights.

After September 1, 2009, Vermont will no longer offer civil unions, though civil unions already performed will continue to be recognized. If parties to civil unions wish to be married, they will have to obtain marriage licenses and have marriage ceremonies.

The new law also makes explicit that Vermont recognizes same-sex marriages that have been performed in other jurisdictions where they are legal.

Although the debate over marriage equality in Vermont was sometimes tense, and often moving, it was not rancorous in the way the debate over civil unions in 2000 had been. The civility of the debate reflected the fact that Vermonters had grown familiar with gay and lesbian couples in civil unions (and in marriage in Massachusetts and Canada) and realized that none of the dire predictions made by opponents had come to pass: the sky did not fall simply because gay and lesbian couples enjoyed equal rights.

The success in Vermont is remarkable when one considers that, except in a few liberal states, very few legislators support marriage equality or even civil unions or domestic partnerships. The ability to marshal a 2/3 vote in favor of marriage equality attests to the effectiveness of grass-roots organizing and to Vermonters' commitment to equality under the law.

Domestic Partnerships in Washington

In 2007, in the aftermath of the bitterly divided Washington state supreme court ruling that gay and lesbian couples had no constitutional right to marriage, the Washington legislature adopted a relatively weak domestic partnership law. It provided hospital visitation rights, the ability to authorize autopsies and organ donations, and inheritance rights when there is no will.

In 2008, the legislature expanded that law to give domestic partners standing under laws covering probate and trusts, community property, and guardianship.