Vermont legalizes same-sex marriage
By Emma Fidel, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Web Update
Vermont is now one of four states in the nation to allow same-sex marriage after the state’s legislature voted on Tuesday to override the Republican Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto of legislation passed by the Vermont Senate on Monday.
The Vermont House voted 100 to 49 in favor of overriding the bill, after the Senate voted for the override by a margin of 23 to five, the Associated Press reported. Vermont law requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate to override a veto.
Vermont was the first state to adopt a civil unions law in 2000 and is also the first to legalize gay marriage with a legislature's vote, according to the AP. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa each legalized gay marriage through their courts.
"I prepared myself for this outcome and predicted it," Douglas told the AP.
A similar same-sex marriage bill is currently before the New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee. The New Hampshire House of Representative voted 186 to 179 to approve the bill on March 26.