Marriage Equality News from Vermont
Filed by: Ellen Andersen
February 7, 2009 2:30 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2009/02/marriage_equality_news_from_vermont.phpAll hail from the wonderfully snowy Vermont! I've been AWOL from Bilerico ever since my move this summer (sorry Bil and Alex!), but I'm back with some pretty exciting news to report.
Yesterday, a marriage equality bill (H. 178) was introduced into the legislature here. At the moment, it's got 59 House sponsors (none of them Republican). That makes it only 16 votes shy of a guaranteed win in the House. And at least a few Repubs have indicated that they'll vote for the bill when and if it comes to the floor.
There are some reasonably big roadblocks still in the way. Our Republican Governor, Jim Douglas, doesn't support marriage equality. And our Speaker of the House (Shap Smith), who actually supports the bill, isn't absolutely sold on bringing it to the floor this year, in light of the state's huge fiscal crisis.
