Jaysin Hardy, in a comment on an earlier entry, writes to say: “Me and my lover are planning in getting married next December in Vermont. It is legal there … Other states won’t recognize it but, hey: in my eyes we will be, and we will have the freakin paper to prove it. It may only be good in Vermont, but we have it right? But, yes, it is legal in Vermont.”
Jaysin, I wish you and your partner every wonderful thing. But the fact remains: you can?t get married — not even in Vermont!
The State of Vermont Vermont does offer civil union ceremonies. According to ?An Act Relating to Civil Unions,? Section 1024, these civil unions (honored, as you note, only in the state of Vermont) offer same-sex partners ?all the same benefits, protections, and responsibilities under law … as granted to spouses in marriage.?
The list of rights and benefits offered via civil union include inheritance rights, group insurance rights, family leave benefits, and many others. Further, there are no residency requirements in order to qualify. Interestingly, a divorce (and a one-year residency in Vermont) is required to dissolve a civil union.
Frankly, I hadn?t realized the scope of Vermont?s Civil Union Act until today. If it were recognized outside of Vermont, it would be exactly what I want for Clyde and myself.
As things stand, however, it just isn?t accurate to say Vermont allows gay people to marry. From a legal standpoint, you?ll have a civil union, not a marriage.
The uglier truth? You may not have that for long:
– The 1996 Federal Defense of Marriage Act states that no state is required to recognize same-sex marriages granted by other states. Further, it specifies that ?marriage? is to be understood as a legal union between one man and one woman, and that ?spouse? is understood to be a person of the opposite sex of the husband or wife in question.
– The proposed Federal Marriage Amendment now being promoted by rabid fundamentalists everywhere takes this further: “Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union between a man and a woman. Neither this constitution or the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.?
If this thing gets passed, even in Vermont a civil union won?t be worth the paper it?s printed on.
So: can you guys hold a ceremony? Yep! Can you swap rings? Sure! Can you claim to be married? Absolutely ? in the sense that anyone can claim to be anything. Heck, President Bush claims to have been elected President ? but saying so doesn?t make it true.
I hope the time will come that you can get married ? really, legally married ? in the eyes of the state. I also hope, by pointing out that you can?t get married ? really, legally married ? right now, I?ll motivate you to become involved in changing that reality.
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