The 50 Spot: Marriage Equality in Vermont Coming Soon?

by Michael Jones · 2009-03-17 07:25:00 UTC
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Freedom to MarryThis week, Vermont's legislature will hold a public hearing to gather input on whether Vermont should do away with its civil union system, and instead enact marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. After nine years of civil unions in VT, Vermont may be on the cusp of becoming the third state in the U.S. to recognize full marriage rights, with legislators promising a vote on the bill before May 2009. Elsewhere, there's news from Oklahoma that a teacher was fired for showing a production of "The Laramie Project" in her class. More below...

Vermont: Tomorrow a public hearing will be held at the Capitol where supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage are expected to show up in droves to either urge Vermont to dismantle its civil unions law and replace it with marriage equality, or preserve the status quo and not recognize full marriage rights. Yesterday, a group of anti-LGBT leaders gathered for a strategy session with the leadership of Vermont Renewal, a right-wing organization hell-bent on opposing marriage equality. Anti-LGBT groups have also launched a series of radio ads, entitled "Don't Mess With Marriage," that are broadcasting over the airwaves in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. Blah. Here's hoping that the Vermont legislature takes its cues from Beth Robinson, chairwoman of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, who calls civil unions out as a "painful compromise" for gay and lesbian people, and a policy that delegates LGBT folks to second-class status.

Oklahoma: Debra Taylor was a teacher at Grandfield High School in Oklahoma, who a few months ago showed her class the film "The Laramie Project," the movie based on the hate crime that led to the death of Matthew Shepard in 1998. The class liked the movie so much, they decided to stage for themselves a couple of scenes from the film. That is, until the principal of the school put a halt on that, and the superintendent of the district placed Taylor on a paid suspension. Now comes word that the superintendent, Ed Turlington, recommended that Taylor be fired, and his school board agreed, voting for her departure last Friday. Looks like homophobia is alive and well in this Oklahoma School District. Taylor, for her part, told USA Today that she was just trying to send a message that students should be tolerant of people different from them: "I didn't ask them to change their belief systems, but what I asked them was, 'Can you be tolerant of those that are different from you?' Many times the students came back and said, 'I don't like gays.' I said: 'I'm not asking you to like gays. But can you be tolerant?'"

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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