“Vermont will be remembered as the state that led this country toward gender equality and the rights of all people, that is our mission and that is a goal in which we will succeed.” Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders uttered those words yesterday as part of the pushback against the Republican’s War on Women. Women and men from around Vermont gathered in Montpelier to rally against the degradation of women’s rights in the United States.

Over the past several weeks, Republicans have been pushing restrictions on women’s rights, including restrictions on contraception and abortion. Some states have even gotten rid of equal pay acts claiming that they are unnecessary and hurt businesses when, in reality, they help women attain equal pay for equal work.

Former Vermont Governor Madeline Kunin was there and stated “I never thought that I would be speaking out in 2012 for the right to have access to contraception.” She also thanked, of all people, Rush Limbaugh saying “Rush Limbaugh helped ignite this debate and Sandra Fluke had the courage to fight back”

WCAX also reported that:

Kunin said. The former governor says Vermonters are lucky because the state enjoys an equal rights mentality — unlike our ‘sisters’ as she calls them in other states. She told the women “we have to speak out not only for us but for them because the future, not only of Vermont, but of this country is at stake.”

Here is the WCAX story: