After the Vermont Senate voted overwhelmingly (26-4) for a bill that would allow same-sex couples in Vermont to obtain the same state marriage license that is afforded to opposite-sex couples – and in advance of last night's tremendous support (95-52) for this bill in the Vermont House – the Governor of Vermont, Jim Douglas, announced he would veto the bill.
Douglas says he believes that only members of his own group should be allowed to enter this public institution.
"I say segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!"
--Gov. George Wallace
Vermont was the first state, and indeed the first sovereign nation, to outlaw slavery. Vermont would be the first state to grant same-sex couples marriage licenses without being required to by a court ruling. Apparently uninspired by this egalitarian tradition, Jim Douglas is taking his cues from another place and time in American history.