Vermont Freedom to Marry

FAQ for couples who want to marry

Read answers to questions commonly asked by same-sex couples considering marrying in Vermont. Click here to view the FAQ.

Join Us at Pride!

March at Pride 2009 with Vermont Freedom to Marry!   

With the passage of the marriage equality bill, Vermont Freedom to Marry will have a HUGE presence at Pride this year, and we want YOU to join us.  Please sign up today to march with us at Pride!

When: Saturday, July 25th
Where: Battery Street Park
Time: Line up for the parade at 11:00am
More details to follow!

We are very excited for our theme: An ode to Vermont Freedom to Marry's history.  It will include a float from the past (that many of you will recognize), memorabilia, vintage t-shirts and more!  So don't miss out.

Click here to sign up for Pride 2009 with VFM!

We will need volunteers to help make signs, collect Marriage Equality Resolution signatures, register voters, etc.  To volunteer with VFM at Pride, please contact Ashley at Ashley@vtfreetomarry.org or (802) 777-1949.  Or simply click "Yes" as a volunteer on the registration page!

See you there!

Calling Wedding Officiants!

Vermont Freedom to Marry is going to launch a wedding resource webpage for couples looking to  marry in Vermont.  If you are a justice of the peace, clergy member, or judge who wants to  marry same-sex couples, then sign up on our Wedding Officiant Sign Up Page.  We will publish your information on our upcoming wedding page!

Click here to sign up today!

Please note: There are opportunities for people who are not a justice of the peace, clergy member, or judge to acquire temporary status to officiate a wedding.  Visit the Secretary of State's website to learn more.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Ashley at Ashley@vtfreetomarry.org or (802) 777-1949.

Thank Senator Shumlin for his principled stand for fairness and equality!

photo by Karen Pike

Senator Shumlin was scheduled to be an honored guest at next week's Democratic National Committee fundraising event targeting the glbt community.  In light of the Obama Administration's failure to take action to repeal the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act," and in the wake of the Obama Administration's recent legal defense of "DOMA" in the courts -- invoking an analogy between homosexuality and incest -- Senator Shumlin has withdrawn from participation in his party's fundraiser.  Federal respect for our own inclusive marriage law is on the line, and Senator Shumlin is standing by his dogged insistence on glbt equality.  We've pasted in a copy of Senator Shumlin's letter to the DNC below.

Please thank Senator Shumlin for his continued support for fairness for all Vermonters-- and Americans.  You can email him at:  senprespt@leg.state.vt.us

Thanks!

Beth Robinson

A copy of Senator Shumlin's letter withdrawing from the DNC event:

Dear Andy,

Further our recent telephone conversation, I was looking forward to seeing you next week in DC for the DNC event with Vice President Joe Biden, but after learning how the Administration and the Department of Justice is choosing to defend DOMA, I am writing to let you know that I am canceling my participation in the upcoming event.

As an early and strong supporter of Barack Obama I am shocked and disappointed at the level of insensitivity that the Department of Justice has shown towards gay and lesbian couples and their families.  By defending DOMA and making reference to horribly inaccurate and deeply hurtful stereotypes about gay and lesbian Americans, the Administration has chosen discriminate against a minority group that we all have a responsibility to be more courageous in defending. This action will only serve to sow the seeds for further hatred and division against the only minority group left in America that politicians can publicly discriminate against and see their approval ratings rise.  My disappointment in this has led me to the regrettable decision not to be a participant in the DNC event.

I am proud Vermont made history in how we enacted marriage equality - not through a court order but through legislative action.  The tides of history, love and justice came together in Vermont and I look forward to witnessing this movement swell across the nation as all of America's citizens are granted equal rights.  It is my hope that the Obama Administration will actively support what we did in Vermont - grant marriage equality to all under the law - nothing more and nothing less.

Andy, I appreciate your hard work on behalf of the DNC and I make this decision with regret.

My Best,

Peter Shumlin

New Hampshire Becomes 6th State to Win Marriage Equality!

On Wednesday, June 3, the New Hampshire Senate and House passed a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry. Governor John Lynch quickly signed the bill, which goes into effect at midnight on January 1, 2010. New Hampshire joins Vermont, Maine, Iowa, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

 On June 3, Vermont Freedom to Marry staff Sheryl Rapee-Adams and Ashley Kaufmann were on the ground in Concord, New Hampshire where other Vermont equality supporters joined them to celebrate with Vermont's neighbors in the Granite State. Many thanks to those who made the trip and many others who helped spread the word and sent good vibes!

As the jubilant crowd streamed from the State House, a supporter thanked a legislator who smiled and said, "You're welcome. Now we need you to be there for us."

 That will be equally true in Vermont. Watch for Vermont Freedom to Marry alerts with opportunities for you to help equality this summer by volunteering at VFM's THANK YOU VERMONT booth at summer events and  county fairs.

Thank you for always being there for equality.

California: Prop 8 stands; so do 18,000 marriages

A divided California Supreme Court has upheld the Constitutionality of Prop 8, though it affirmed the validity of marriages of same-sex couples who legally married in California prior to passage of that constitutional amendment last November.  Civil rights advocates have vowed to overturn Prop 8 where it began:  at the ballot box. 

Last fall, the movement for gay and lesbian civil rights hit a low when California voters overturned a decision of that state's highest court that same-sex couples had a constitutionally-protected right to marry.  Since then, the national tide has shifted decidedly, with Iowa, Vermont and Maine joining Massachusetts and Connecticut in allowing same-sex couples to legally marry, and New Hampshire on the verge.

"We had hoped the California Court would strike down Prop 8," explained Beth Robinson, of Vermont Freedom to Marry, "but we, and our counterparts in California, remain undaunted.  The advances of the last few months drive home the reality that if we persevere, we will succeed." 

We'll try to post the California decision on our web site as soon as we can access it.  In the meantime, we urge Vermonters to give their immediate attention to our neighbors to the East, as our counterparts in New Hampshire can use all the help we can offer them in this home stretch:  www.nhftm.org.

In the long run, let's support our friends in California as they prepare for another round before the voters, www.eqca.org; in New York, as they urge their Senate to pass the marriage bill already passed by their General Assembly,  www.prideagenda.org ; in Maine, where they're gearing up to defend the newly-won freedom to marry in a voter initiative, www.equalitymaine.org, and New Jersey, where they're mounting a legislative push of their own, www.gardenstateequality.org. 

Beth Robinson
Vermont Freedom to Marry