From many, Statehouse panel hears the pros and cons of gay marriage
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Tom Little offers testimony Monday on the same-sex marriage bill. STEFAN HARD/TIMES ARGUS |
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By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau - Published: March 17, 2009
MONTPELIER – Legislative hearings on legalizing same-sex marriage began quietly in a small meeting room at the Statehouse on Monday as a crowd of opposition roared across the hall.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from nearly a dozen witnesses as they began the process of voting on a bill that would take Vermont one step further from its landmark 2000 civil union law.
"The question before this committee is if Act 91 is fulfilling its promise," said former Rep. Tom Little, a Shelburne Republican who passed the civil union law nine years ago as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
Little told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that Act 91, the state's civil union law, had an important impact on the rights of gays and lesbians in Vermont – but that it lacks the full societal benefits that come with the term marriage.
"Allowing same-sex couples to marry would grant them access to less tangible benefits," said Little, who chaired a legislative commission two years ago that toured the state to take Vermonters' temperature on the hot-button issue. "This would include the use of words such as marriage, wedding, marry, celebration and divorce … words that have historical, social and cultural significance."
Monday's start of the same-sex hearings was a sharp contrast to the divisive and heated debate that led to civil unions nine years ago – although strong opposition to the proposed change showed up at the Statehouse and rallied in a nearby room.
But in the first floor conference room, about 60 supporters and opponents quietly watched and listened as senators delved into the practical and legal ramifications of allowing same-sex Vermonters to marry.
Senators heard from law professors, religious leaders and civil rights advocates – most of who support the bill.
Robert Appel, the executive director of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, said just as social considerations and laws changed a half-century ago regarding marriage between interracial partners, Americans today are becoming more and more comfortable with same-sex couples.
"Although those provisions still exist in some societies, they are considered antiquated in our own," Appel said of state laws that once barred interracial marriages.
Marcia Merrill, the chair of the Vermont Commission on Women, told lawmakers that allowing same-sex couples to marry is "just the right thing to do."
"As women, we are no strangers to discrimination," she said. "We know the injustice of inequality. We know what it is like to be considered second-class citizens."
But not every witness Monday was enthusiastic about same-sex couples marrying. Activist Brian Pearl, for example, told lawmakers that same-sex couples can't consummate a marriage and therefore shouldn't gain access to that institution.
Rev. Craig Bensen, one of the organizers of Monday's opposition rally, told the senators that legalizing same-sex marriage would violate the "right of children to be raised by their biological parents."
Bensen, who also urged lawmakers to allow for a statewide ballot question on same-sex marriage, said he believes that children are best raised in households with one mother and one father. Changing state law to allow same-sex couple would essentially create a state-sanctioned new model for families, he said.
"If you want to know how Vermonters feel about this issue, just ask us," Bensen said, pushing for a statewide ballot question.
Two senators took issue with some of Bensen's testimony. Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, the chair of the Judiciary Committee, said during his 40 years of working with troubled children, he has seen numerous families with both a mother and a father that are highly dysfunctional.
"I would argue that a loving family is more important than a heterosexual family," Sears said.
Sen. John Campbell, D-Windsor, a lead sponsor of the same-sex marriage bill, said during his days as a police officer in Florida he investigated countless domestic violence cases involving families with both a mother and a father. The children in these families were "destroyed" by the violence they saw and experienced, he said.
"You talk about models," Campbell said. "I believe the model should be two wonderful parents who are dedicated to raising their children."
Eventually the debate broke down to a difference in opinion on the origins of gays and lesbians. Campbell said he believed that gays and lesbians are born that way. Bensen said he believes that childhood trauma and environment can lead to people turning gay or lesbian – and that through counseling they can be rehabilitated.
"Show me the DNA," Bensen said. "If there is a gay gene out there, where is it?"
Monday's hearings provided some clues as to how the committee may vote on the bill later this week. Sears, who supported a bill in the 1990s allowing gays and lesbians to adopt, seemed inclined to support the bill, although he also appeared to have some concerns.
Sen. Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland, who also has not expressed an opinion on the bill yet, questioned Little on the length of time the Legislature spent debating civil unions in 2000 as he probed if one week was enough time for a committee to hear testimony on same-sex marriage.
"A lot of work has happened in the last eight-and-a-half years," Little said. "If the members of the General Assembly are diligent in their work, they can make an informed decision."
By mid-afternoon, what was once a standing room of observers had dwindled down to a handful of activists, Statehouse staff and reporters. The crowd of opposition, which gathered in a larger room across the hall, had gone home.
Beth Robinson, a member of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Taskforce and the attorney who successfully argued the court case leading to the civil union law, said comparisons can be made between this debate and 1950s-era laws that forced black Americans to drink from different public water fountains than white Americans.
"Every member of a community is harmed when laws separate and divide us," she said.
The hearings on the same-sex bill continue today.
Contact Daniel Barlow at Daniel.Barlow@timesargus.com.
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