The Courage Of the Vermont Congress

Many of us that support Marriage Equality didn't think they would have the votes to accomplish this...

VICTORY! Vermont votes for marriage equality!

Moments ago, the Vermont House voted 100-49 to override the marriage bill veto! The House vote, which followed the Senate voting 23-5 this morning to override Gov. Douglas’s veto, means that Vermont becomes the first state to OK marriage equality through the legislative process.

Vermont has now recognized the same Marriage Equality that Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa have already recognized.

[update] The NY Times explains why this is a bit of a surprise:

Approval had been expected in the Senate, where the vote was 23 to 5.

But the outcome in the House of Representatives was not clear until the final moments of a long roll call, when Rep. Jeff Young, a Democrat who voted against the bill last week, reversed his position. In the end the vote was 100 to 49, just slightly more than the required two-thirds majority of members present.

[udate deux] The Iowa Senate Majority leader, Mike Gronstal, is effectively blocking efforts to undo the recent decision of the Iowa Supremes:

One of my daughters was in the workplace one day, and her particular workplace at that moment in time, there were a whole bunch of conservative, older men. And those guys were talking about gay marriage. They were talking about discussions going on across the country.

And my daughter Kate, after listening for about 20 minutes, said to them: You guys don't understand. You've already lost. My generation doesn't care.

I think I learned something from my daughter that day, when she said that. And I've talked with other people about it and that's what I see, Senator McKinley. I see a bunch of people that merely want to profess their love for each other, and want state law to recognize that.

Is that so wrong? I don't think thats so wrong. As a matter of fact, last Friday night, I hugged my wife. You know Ive been married for 37 years. I hugged my wife. I felt like our love was just a little more meaningful last Friday night because thousands of other Iowa citizens could hug each other and have the state recognize their love for each other.

No, Senator McKinley, I will not co-sponsor a leadership bill with you.

The video:

Good day for equal rights. Daughters and sons of miscegenation legal arguments past can cry me a river.