LOCAL REACTIONS TO THE VERMONT RULING

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LOCAL REACTIONS TO THE VERMONT RULING

What do you think? Send your opinion to rabiera@gayokc.com!

Commentary by Paul Thompson -

Great!! Someone finally gets it!! The Vermont court decision is, to put it simply, that the Vermont legislature doesn't have to allow gays and lesbians to 'marry' but that they cannot exclude us from access to the same rights that any other committed couples can avail themselves of.
One thing that I believe frequently clouds this issue in the public's mind is that when we say marriage most people, whether they admit it or even realize it or not, think of a church wedding and lose sight of some important facts:
1. We are not attempting to force churches to marry gays and lesbians when that goes against church doctrine. And
2. that straight couples can go get a marriage license and have a fully legal civil ceremony that does not involve any church in any way.
What we have asked for in the past and what we are asking for now is EQUAL civil and human rights. Allowing gays and lesbians to access the same benefits that other couples have are not "special rights". They are equal rights. We deserve and must have the rights to visit critically ill loved ones in hospitals, to protect our joint property, to have inheritance rights and to protect the custody of our children. These are among the many rights that heterosexual couples take for granted.
We are tired of being criticized for the supposed impermanence of our relationships on the one hand and then being forbidden to make our relationships legal and binding on the other.
The Vermont court decision is an important step in the struggle for gay and lesbian couples' rights. We cannot and must not either rest or give up until gays and lesbians have the same rights any other person can expect in every state of these United States.
On this New Year's Eve make an extra toast (either champagne or a non-alcoholic beverage) to this victory, and then on January 1st of the new millennium let's roll our sleeves back up and keep up the good fight!

Paul R. Thompson
male co-chair
Oklahoma Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus

Letter by Paul Barby to Governor Dean Howard of Vermont (Paul is faxing this letter to Gov Howard and Dr Laura Schlessinger) -

Honorable Dean Howard
Governor of Vermont
State Capitol
109 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05609
FAX: 802.828.3339

RE: Vermont Supreme Court Opens Straight Americans' Closet Doors!

Dear Governor Howard:

Straight Americans have waited for leadership to give them courage and compassion to open their own closet doors so that they can support GLBT (gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgendered) persons as equal partners in our democracy.

We are so thankful for and appreciative of the courage and sense of fairness exhibited by the Vermont Supreme Court decision which directs that same-sex couples should receive equal treatment in your state. That decision marks an historic moment in the lives of GLBT persons, their families and friends.

Thank you, Vermont, for opening those closet doors for straight Americans, wanting to honor fairness and equal treatment long deserved by GLBT persons as members of their families, friends and neighbors in their communities who, like straight Americans, are care-givers and co-workers in the daily existence lived by every American.

Sincerely,
Paul M. Barby, President
Oklahoma City Stonewall Democrats

Paul Bashline and Edward Kromer -

We applaud the Vermont's Supreme Court's Baker vs Vermont Court decision. A sigh of relief and tears of joy with a hope for the future:
The fight for human dignity has waged on countless fronts throughout history. It is almost inconceivable that slavery in America ended just over 100 years ago. The lesson here is not to wait patiently for the basic rights of gay and lesbian people to be recognized, but to realize we stand in a long line of courageous men and women who committed themselves to the overturning of inherent injustice. Many of them gave their lives just to simply live as free men and women. They, like us, knew the ugliness of entrenched discrimination and hate, felt the backlash that is the evil twin of progress. And we like them should fight for what we believe to be right. 100 years from know, a new generation will admire how we changed the world. With so many enemies lining us up in their sights, we do well to welcome all that make a commitment to stand with us in the cause. It is those with the loudest voices and the strongest will to fight that come out on top.
To get society to accept us, we must first accept ourselves. Acceptance is nothing more than a beginning. We accept the terms of treaties, but that in itself is not peace. We accept apologies, but forgiveness takes more time. We accept a range of conditions as the best possible for now, but carve out of them much grander visions of the future. Acceptance of gays and lesbians is no ultimate goal. Those who meet this minimal test cross the threshold to a place of more profound moral challenges. Fairness, compassion, love, and respect are essential standards of ethical communities.
Live and let live is far from enough. The judgement is on all of us: to love one another exceedingly well; to measure up to the highest calls of our duty and our faith; to be what we all are - reflections of a creator who sowed seeds of infinite variety.

Jim Nimmo -

In regard to the Vermont Supreme Court decision ordering the Vermont Legislature to accommodate LGBT people at the same level as straights, I would like to say that if straights want to maintain a monopoly on the word "marriage", then I say let them keep it. The important issue is that LGBT people must have parity and equality in the field of civil and legal rights which are supposed to be guaranteed to all US citizens by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Domestic partnership, spousal benefits, common law relationship, are reasonable descriptions to describe the solid, decent, committed relationships many LGBT people have with their partners. Are straight people really the role model LGBT people want to emulate in the first place? What is so admirable about their lives, filled with divorce, abuse, and infidelity? LGBT people have the same strengths and weaknesses as straights: The main difference being that LGBT people are not interested in denying equal rights to citizens who are entitled to coverage by all the laws and benefits accruing to citizenship.

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