By Kathleen Gilbert
MONTPELIER, Vermont, April 7, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Vermont’s House of Representatives accrued just enough votes earlier today to overturn Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto of Vermont’s same-sex “marriage” bill. The vote made Vermont the fourth U.S. state to extend the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex couples, days after Iowa’s Supreme Court imposed same-sex “marriage” in the Midwest.
The Senate voted 23-5 to overturn the veto, and the House voted 100-49, achieving the two-thirds majority needed to push the new definition of marriage as “the legally recognized union of two people” into law.
Gov. Douglas had vetoed the bill immediately upon receiving its final draft yesterday. However, Douglas said he would not urge legislators to comply with the veto, but only “to do what their consciences lead them to do, most importantly to do it quickly and get on with the business of the state.”
Vermont is the first state to approve same-sex “marriage” through the legislative process, as opposed to activist court rulings.
Concerned Women for America’s President Wendy Wright issued a statement today condemning the bill’s legislative supporters for “vainly redefining marriage.”
Noting that Vermont was the first state to create same-sex civil unions, Wright said: “As pro-family leaders warned, and despite claims by homosexual activists, this debate is not about benefits. That was merely the wedge to demand more, to require that everyone in society accept what cannot – by nature – be, that marriage can be something other than one man and one woman.”
“The decision by Vermont legislators to attempt to redefine marriage creates an urgency for other states and officials to protect marriage,” said Wright.
Iowa’s Supreme Court Friday set off a firestorm after it unanimously agreed that Iowa’s Defense of Marriage Act “violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution,” and therefore the court had a “constitutional duty” to impose same-sex “marriage” on the state.
Critics accused the court of ignoring Iowan’s authority over the law through the democratic process, and called for immediate debate of a constitutional amendment.
However, the prognosis that such an amendment would undergo consideration in the Democrat-ruled legislature looked grim Monday. Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal said he had “no intention” of taking up the issue, and the House Majority leader Kevin McCarthy was hesitant to announce his intentions.
The imposition of same-sex “marriage” may also be drawing near in New Hampshire, where it has passed the House, as well as in Maine and New Jersey, where similar legislation is under debate.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Vermont House Approves Same-Sex “Marriage” Bill, Backers Seek Votes to Override Veto
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040613.html
Vermont Gov. Will Veto Same-Sex “Marriage” Bill Passed in Senate
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032509.html
Iowa Marriage Defenders Push for Marriage Amendment, Decry Foul Play in Activist Same-Sex “Marriage” Ruling
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040607.html
Iowa Supreme Court Legalizes Same-Sex “Marriage”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040301.html