WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Rallies For and Against Gay Marriage
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Burlington, Vermont - March 29, 2009
Vermonters in support of same-sex marriage streamed into the Unitarian Church in Burlington for a rally, with just a week or so before an expected confrontation over a veto from Governor Jim Douglas.
"In a closed door conversation Friday, the governor basically said he had no time to listen to us because Vermonters were losing their jobs. Douglas thinks that we're a distraction to the economy," Sherry Corbin of the Freedom to Marry Task Force said to applause.
Supporters of same-sex marriage cited a survey claiming the measure would actually generate millions of dollars in revenue from same-sex couples who would come to Vermont to get married.
Some opponents of the legislation, such as at the Evangelical Christ Memorial Church in Williston, see it as a moral issue governed by religious beliefs.
"I think it's God's business. God made us all children of himself, he created us and it is his business as the creator to speak to how we ought to behave here in this world," said Steve Jones, a church elder at Christ Memorial.
Other church groups that support same-sex marriage, such as at the Unitarian Church, call it a matter of religious freedom as well as a principle of equality.
"Marriage is the best thing, everybody's equal, we're all created equal for a reason," said Shannon Evert, who supports same-sex marriage.
But traditionalists say a radical redefinition of marriage will bring lasting negative consequences.
Wes Pastor, the senior minister at Christ Memorial, said, "Marriage between a man and a woman is a bedrock institution for all societies, for all time. So when you start tinkering with that, you're messing around with something pretty profound."
Everyone involved in this debate, supporters and opponents alike, is wondering whether the veto promised by Governor Douglas will withstand an override by the legislature, or not. That's the crux of the matter for both sides.
Andy Potter - WCAX News
