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Vermonters Celebrate Pride
and Civil Unions

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by Paul Olsen

Vermonters withstood the scorching heat to celebrate Pride Day on Saturday, June 16.

BURLINGTON — Vermonters celebrated both gay pride and the first anniversary of Vermont’s historic civil union law at the state’s Pride Day celebration on June 16.

The scorching heat didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the Pride Day participants who marched through Burlington’s downtown and held both pre- and post-parade rallies along the beautiful shores of Lake Champlain.

While gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender pride was the official theme of the day, the fact that civil unions survived legislative attempts to both repeal and water down the law was not far from the minds of many Pride Day revilers.

Openly gay state Rep. Bill Lippert (D-Hinesburg) told the crowd that although civil unions survived the recently concluded legislative session, the battle was not over. “Civil unions remains intact but civil unions has been under attack,” he said. “The success of civil unions has brought the biggest anti-gay backlash in Vermont’s history but we have stood firm and civil unions stand firm.”

Lippert added that Vermont’s civil union debate would likely continue into the elections in 2002. “We have a challenge,” he said. “We need to remember that this is a long- haul battle. We must mobilize ourselves for the election of 2002 in a way that we have not anticipated previously. They want to take back the state senate and governorship so they can take civil unions from us, but we will not let it happen. We must back candidates who support civil unions.”

 

Participants who marched through Burlington's downtown held both pre- and post-parade rallies by Lake Champlain.

Sherry Corbin, a representative of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, echoed Lippert’s sentiments. “As we celebrate new civil unions and celebrate the first year anniversary of old civil unions, let’s remember that our job is not done,” she said. “We’re constantly under attack on this, and we’ve got a long way to go. We still have a lot of work to do.”

In the closing weeks of the legislative session Vermont’s House of Representatives approved H.502, a bill to repeal Vermont’s landmark civil union law and replace it with a broader “reciprocal partnerships” law open to gay couples and blood relatives like two sisters or a father and his daughter.

Two separate efforts to repeal the civil union law outright failed by votes of 111 to 30 and 94 to 47.

Opponents of the reciprocal partnerships proposal characterized the bill as both unnecessary and as an anti-gay initiative designed to demean gay and lesbian relationships. Although H.502 ultimately passed the House by a narrow 72-69 vote, the bill is unlikely to be considered by the Vermont Senate when the legislature reconvenes. Additionally, Governor Howard Dean (D) indicated that he would veto the bill if it came to his desk.

Richard Thorngren of South Burlington said that he came to Pride Day to celebrate the survival of civil unions. ěIím proud that the legislature and the people of Vermont have accepted civil unions,î he said. ěThe sky hasnít fallen, plagues of locusts and famine and flood have not fallen upon us like the radical right predicated. Vermont is a better place than it was two years ago because of civil unions.î

Paul Olsen is the Vermont correspondent for In Newsweekly.