Vermont OK's Gay Marriage

By Rick Moran

You can hear them on the left already talking about "Big Mo" in the gay marriage fight. Iowa last week and Vermont this week - two small states with a higher than average population of liberals and where even in the more liberal Iowa, polls show less than 30% support gay marriage:

Vermont has become the fourth state to legalize gay marriage - and the first to do so with a legislature's vote.

The Legislature voted Tuesday to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of a bill allowing gays and lesbians to marry. The vote was 23-5 to override in the state Senate and 100-49 to override in the House. Under Vermont law, two-thirds of each chamber had to vote for override.

The vote came nine years after Vermont adopted its first-in-the-nation civil unions law.

It's now the fourth state to permit same-sex marriage. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa are the others. Their approval of gay marriage came from the courts.

The Vermont Senate voted earlier this morning to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of the same-sex marriage legislation.

The vote passed, 23-5.

Not much that can be done when the legislature ok's it. Most courts see that as the "people" speaking and are reluctant to overturn.

Does this give impetus to the Marriage Amendment? You bet it does and, if a few more states follow suit, my guess would be it would energize the religious right as they perhaps haven't been in a while - certainly since before the 2008 election where many decided to stay home than vote for McCain.

But the Amendment has its own problems being adopted by 36 states and, of course, it won't pass Congress until there's a solid GOP majority back in charge. So for the time being, gay marriage opponents must use the courts when possible and bide their time otherwise.