How the Vermont Civil Union Law Came About
In 1997, three Vermont couples who had applied for and been denied marriage licenses came together to file a lawsuit declaring that their state constitutional rights had been violated. But one year later, the Chittenden Superior Court, which heard their case, dismissed it.
The couples appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court, with the help of attorneys Mary Bonauto of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Beth Robinson and Susan Murray. In 1999, they won a landmark ruling in Baker v. State that captured the attention of courts, media, politicians and ordinary people nationwide.
The court ruled simply: “[T]he state is constitutionally required to extend to same-sex couples the common benefits and protections that flow from marriage under Vermont law” – adding that to do so is, “when all is said and done, a recognition of our common humanity.”
As justification for this decision, the court relied on the state Constitution’s Common Benefits Clause – specifically citing this passage: “[G]overnment is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or community, and not for the particular emolument or advantage of any single person, family, or set of persons, who are a part only of that community.”
While a clear victory for gay and lesbian couples, the ruling stopped short of determining specifically how they should be granted the common benefits and protection of marriage. Rather, the justices declared, the state Legislature had to make this decision: Should gay and lesbian couples be granted marriage or something equivalent?
For many politicians, it was an unwelcome task. Facing the first such mandate in the nation, they were under enormous public scrutiny, and their re-election prospects were thought to be at stake because the issue was seen as so controversial. Others, including then Gov. Howard Dean, saw the task as an issue of basic civil rights. Still, lawmakers held what were generally described as civilized and responsible hearings on the issue and, eventually, concluded that they would not open marriage to gay and lesbian couples but, rather, establish a parallel system of protections and responsibilities through the Vermont civil union law, which would become effective July 1, 2000.
To the attorneys and advocates who had fought for marriage, it was both a victory and a disappointment. They did not want to settle for what many referred to as a “separate but equal” compromise. Yet they had achieved more than had ever been won before for the gay and lesbian couples.