VERMON'i§'S VOICE FOR THE l,£|%S_l3,i_AN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY

  

BY EUAN BEAR T

s OITM was going to press, the
Arltlassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
led 4-3 that preventing couples of
_the_ same gender from marrying is unconstitu-
tional under the commonwealth’s charter docu-
ment. Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates
& Defenders successfully litigated the case on

. behalf of seven sarne-sex couples.

Proponents of same-sex marriage
hailed the ruling as a victory, although the
court stopped short of requiring municipalities
to immediately issue marriage licenses. The
ruling gives the Massachusetts legislature 180
days to write legislation conforming with its
ruling. The legislature is already considering a

amending the state constitution to ban same-‘
sex marriages.

Several reports said that the ruling
was very similar to the 1999 Vermont Supreme
Court ruling, which resulted in legislation cre-
ating civil unions. _

The court in Goodridge et al. v.
Department of Public Health defines civil mar-
riage in Massachusetts as “the voluntary union
of two persons as spouses, to the exclusion of
all others.”.

Chief Justice Margaret Marshall,
writing for the majority, wrote, “Marriage is a
vital social institution. The exclusive commit-
ment of two individuals to each other nurtures
love and mutual support. It brings stability to
our society. For those who choose to marry,
and for their children, marriage provides an

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Ruling Gives Legilature 180 Days to Take “AppropriateAction”

fits. In return, it imposes weighty legal, finan-
cial, and social obligations.”

_ “This is a momentous legal and cul-
tural milestone,” said Mary L. Bonauto, of
GLAD, who was an attorney for the couples.
“At long last, gay and lesbian families and
their children will finally be equal families in
the Commonwealth."

The court’s ruling is based on the
equality provisions of the state constitution.
Under the “free and equal” clause in the consti-
tution, it held, “The marriage ban works deep
and scarring hardship on a very real segment of
the community for no rational reason.”

Because the ruling is based on the
Massachusetts Constitution, there is no appeal
to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Four of the couples in the Goodridge

been together for more than six years.

“This is a profound moment for our
family,: said Hillary Goodridge on behalf of
herself and Julie Goodridge, the named plain-
tiffs in the case. “We will no longer have to try
to explain to our eight-year-old daughter why
we can’t marry, or that we love each other even
though we are not married. And more impor-
tantly, we’ll be able to provide Annie with the
full protections under marriage that we now
can’t possibly provide no matter how many
legal documents we draft and sign.”

_ Gary Chalmers, a teacher, and
Richard Linnell, a nurse, were also plaintiffs in
the case. “We are thrilled,” said Chalmers. .
“We’ve always been like every other family in
our neighborhood.”

Susan

civil unions-type bill and a proposal for

abundance of legal, financial and social bene-

case are raising children together and all have

Murray, one of

continued on p. 6

Opening the Cathedral Doors: The consecration of Gene Robinson

Editor Euan Bear shares her experience of the consecration ceremony for the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop.

etting into the arena at the

University of New Hampshire.

on All Saints Sunday meant first
Passing a large van draped in ban-
ners calling on the Episcopalians to
halt the ceremony lest God treat
thcm as He (sic) treated Sodom and
Gomorrah. .

After climbing the stairs
from the parking lot, we walked a

W

inside out:

this issues contents

VGaVGamesGone

D. 2. Montreal Rendez-Vous

2006 says “au revoir” to
FGG.

gantlet of Westboro Baptist
Church/Fred Phelps-style protestors
(I did not see the man himself, but
reportedly they were demonstrating
at several churches in the area) out-
side the arena. Monitoring the scene
was a collection of state, local, and
campus cops, some mounted on
horseback. To the best of my knowl-
edge there were no physical con-

V crowning Our Crones
p. 8 Ageism abates when
Crones are crowned with

honot

frontations.
One guy addressed me

directly, “Homosexuality is a sin

against God, ma’am.” A step later I
turned and said, “No, hate is!” A few
yards further on, I overheard a
woman in the anti-gay protest pen
telling an interviewer, “Oh, no, our
God is not about love!”

Even two hours before the

V Queer choices For
Fist Night p. 17 Check
out three of five out Igbtq
choices for Montpelier’s
Fest.

ceremony’s official start time, the
line to get into the arena building
stretched more than 50 feet, with
many of the people waiting carrying
ecclesiastical robes.

There were three (pre-
upgrade) airport-style metal-detector
screening stations; workers confis-
cated camera batteries, pocket
knives, bottle-openers with

V Price Gets It Right
p. 18 Lesbian cartoonist

crystallizes the mundane for

humans & critters.

 

corkscrews, you name it. Press bags .
were gone over by bomb-sniffing
dogs. The arena easily held more
than 4000, the number of tickets dis-
tributed, but it wasn’t full, One irews
outlet reported 2500 attendees,
which roughly agreed with my esti-

r mate.

The
service started

cont’d on p. 6

News 1-3, 6
Editorial 4
Letters 5
Features 8 - 9
Views 10 - 16
Arts 17-21
Calendar 22
Community Compass 22
The Source 25
Classifieds 28
Gayity 29-

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