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Same-sex Marriage Opposition Appears In Vermont

There is a grassroots effort underway to put the issue of same-sex marriage to the voters of Vermont in the same manner that this issue was placed before the voters of California. The reason for this is quite simple, in all likelihood. Whether or not they will ever want to admit it, groups like Take It To The People want to have the time to bring in the big guns. They want their minority of thirty-five to have the resources of the evangelicals behind them while they fight this battle. That is right, according to the latest data provided by Freedom To Marry and gathered by Marco Polling, only thirty-five percent of Vermonters oppose same-sex marriage strongly enough to express that opinion. Another four percent are lukewarm in their opposition.

To put this into perspective, support for same-sex marriage in Vermont is listed as forty-five percent for strong support, and thirteen for leaning towards supporting it. Together, those numbers are thirty-nine against and fifty-eight for. These poll numbers date back to January of 2009. In order to find poll numbers which support the opposition to same-sex marriage, one has to go back to 2000, where those numbers were largely reversed.

It may sound almost surreal, but more people support same-sex marriage than did Governor Jim Douglas in his last reelection bid. Douglas was facing weak opposition from the Democrats who were more interested in ensuring a victory in the legislature than in taking the Governor’s mansion.

In another year, Vermont holds their elections every other year for Governor, Douglas will be facing stiffer opposition with Douglas Racine among the candidates who are already talking about running against Jim Douglas. Peter Shumlin, John Campbell, Susan Bartlett, and Deborah Markowitz have all indicated a certain interest in running for Governor as well. Both Shumlin, who is President Pro Tem of the Senate, and State Senator John Campbell are supporters of same-sex marriage and would likely have the support of Vermont’s largest minority, that of the LGBTI Community.

While these groups want to bring this to the voters, the likelihood is slim. Still, if they bring it, it will be nothing more than a massive waste of time, effort and money. Mud and slander will be slung from those who still have not realized that Vermont did not utterly collapse in 2001 after civil unions were passed. Or, perhaps, it would be better to say that they have refused to accept that Vermont has not collapsed. Families are no worse off than before civil unions were passed, and that their campaigns after 2001 to overturn civil unions only resulted in a greater backlash towards them than expected. Some businesses who displayed “Take Back Vermont” soon found themselves without patrons as supporters of the LGBTI community withheld their funds. Those that have survived have done so in less than stellar shape in some cases. The last time this war was waged, the ones hurt the most were not the families of the state of Vermont, but those who opposed equality and civil rights.

As to the charge that the legislature has more important things to do, that is blatantly deceptive. Whether they like it or not, hammering out a compromise on the budget is not something that is going to take up every legislator’s time. In fact, the legislators are working on that budget, and it is going to take time. However, it is not that those opposed to same-sex marriage want them to not work on other legislation in this “time of dire crisis”, but rather, they do not want them to work on this legislation. They do not want them to work on anything which upsets their dying culture war. They do not want same-sex marriage to pass in this state because they then loose their ammunition when it comes to future fights.

Those battles are largely over in Vermont. With a plurality supporting what they call “genderless marriage”, the battle is lost. If they want to bring it to the voters, then so be it. So long as not a single dime comes in from outside the state of Vermont. Bring it to the voters so long as no national organizations come in to buy advertisements. If they want to fight this battle, it must be a battle of Vermonters alone. No Mormon Church, no Baptist Church, no money from the Vatican. Nothing that was not donated from within this state, and nothing that was not filmed in this state. No statistics or studies from outside, and nothing but the truth. No cooked studies. And no religion either. No passages about how homosexuality is a sin in this largely non-religious state.

If those in the opposition are courageous enough to play this game on an even footing, with nothing but Vermonters doing this, then bring it to the voters. If not, then let it be known that they do not want this to be decided by Vermonters alone, and that it is time for them to wake up and realize, the world is not what they thought it was.

http://www.vtfreetomarry.org/index.html

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Bridget “Sei” McBride is a trans-lesbian who lives in Vermont and has a strong passion for LGBTI rights. She has a BA in History and her hobbies include sci-fi, anime, fantasy, action movies, video games, and more. Currently, she is working on her MA in Individualized Studies at Goddard College. Her specialization is in cultural history and cultural comparison.