number four

nine years ago, vermont became the first state in the union to enact a civil union law. today, vermont has become the fourth state in the union to legalize gay marriage. and the first to do so through activist judges a legislature's vote.

vermont's governor, jim davis, had threatened to veto the bill, but the state senate and house vote was large enough to override that veto (vermont requires 2/3 vote to override.) after the vote, davis actually made a strong case for federal marriage laws, saying that vermont's action will not provide same-sex couples any federal marriage rights. davis also argued:

"What really disappoints me is that we have spent some time on an issue during which another thousand Vermonters have lost their jobs. We need to turn our attention to balancing a budget without raising taxes, growing the economy, putting more people to work."

davis is right. it's unfortunate that time needs to be spent on this. iowa senate majority leader mike gronstal framed the issue well last week:

"One of my daughters was in the workplace one day, and in her particular workplace at that moment in time there were a whole bunch of conservative, older men. And those guys were talking about gay marriage. They were talking about discussions going on across the country.

And my daughter Kate, after listening for about 20 minutes, said to them: You guys don't understand. You've already lost. My generation doesn't care."