hough he was under intense pressure by religious right organizations to veto the bill, Gov. Howard Dean showed his commitment to equality by signing the historic piece of legislation April 26, 2000 (“Dean” pars. 1, 4). The “civil union” bill allows for lesbians and gays living in Vermont to take part in civil unions, just as heterosexual couples can marry. Same-sex couples will be entitled to all 300 or more benefits available under state law to married couples--including medical decisions, estate inheritance, overseeing burials, transferring property and certain tax breaks. Town clerks will be authorized to give same-sex couples licenses, and clergy, justices of the peace or judges will make theirunions official. Family divorce courts will handle the dissolution of civil unions (“Dean” pars. 32-38)."Our community has raised the public’s consciousness exponentially on the issue of equal marriage," writes Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, in e-mail. "…the Vermont Supreme Court spoke compellingly about ‘our common humanity.’…”(Birch)The mission of the Lambda Legal Defense is “to create social change and achieve full civil rights, dignity, and self-respect for gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals through education, youth advocacy, anti-violence efforts, and fighting discrimination of all forms, to achieve full participation in society of persons belonging to a sexual minority (Lambda).” The Lambda Legal defense is a main player in many Courts-Martial cases dealing with homosexual misconduct in the military. The majority of conservative Americans believe that exposure to just the issue of homosexuality will either scar their children and/or lead them to become homosexual themselves. Most reasonable people will agree that the way to raise awareness and understanding in adults is to educate them. Released in 1996, R...
