Aloha, Vermont

Move over, Hawaii--with a liberal court and political support, Vermont seems poised to be gays' and lesbians' ticket down the aisle

Nearly buried amid the aftermath of the gay-marriage hoopla in Hawaii has been a much quieter fight in Vermont, where the state supreme court could rule any day now that gay nuptials are OK. But conservatives from both Hawaii and the mainland are beginning to mobilize forces in case the court rules in favor of the hot-button issue.

The prospect of gay weddings beneath the pines has alarmed conservatives, who sponsored a mailing to every Vermont household in April. Titled "Aloha, Vermont Friends," it was sent by the Alliance for Traditional Marriage Hawaii and was signed by some of the islands' lawmakers. The mailing, which hints that conservatives fear a favorable ruling from the Vermont supreme court, suggests that Vermonters should work to amend their constitution to permanently outlaw gay marriage.

Rather than rally antigay support, however, the mailing triggered two of the state's highest lawmakers, Lt. Gov. Doug Racine and speaker of the house Michael Obuchowski, to come out in support of gay marriage.

"This is about real Vermonters and real families who want to have the same basic choice that other Vermonters have," said Mary Bonauto, civil rights director of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders. In 1997 GLAD and private cocounsel filed a lawsuit against the state on behalf of two lesbian couples and one gay male couple who were refused marriage licenses. The case was brought before the state supreme court in 1998.

While GLAD awaits the court's decision, Bonauto said they are banking on the state constitution's common benefits clause, which states that government is "instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or community, and not the particular emolument or advantage of any single person, family, or set of persons who are part only of that community.'"

Creaky words, perhaps, but they pack a legal wallop that the supreme court justices in Vermont, a famously liberal state, may find hard to ignore. Said Bonauto: "They are a brave court. They take the constitution seriously."

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