Tag Archives: State: Vermont

“Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas says he will veto a bill to legalize gay marriage if it passes the Legislature.”

Boston Globe: “In a special session, the Vermont Senate yesterday voted to legalize same-sex marriage. Later this week, a similar bill is scheduled for a vote in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Next month a legislative panel in Maine will hold a hearing on a bill to allow gay couples to marry, just as lawmakers did last month in Rhode Island.”

“While the battle’s not as pitched as it was in 2000, the specter of having to face voters is on the minds of lawmakers.”

“The bill, which passed the 30-member chamber by a 26-4 margin, moves to the Vermont House, where it is also expected to be approved. Republican Gov. Jim Douglas, however, has said he doesn’t support the bill . . .”

“A Vermont state Senate committee unanimously approved a gay marriage bill, moving the state one step closer to allowing same-sex couples to legally wed.”

AP: “Vermont lawmakers are starting a week of hearings on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage . . . ”

WPTZ reports: Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas says he’s against gay marriage. Douglas says Vermont’s civil unions law is good the way it is, and he says the state doesn’t need a “divisive” debate on the topic. Vermont was the first …

Over the past ten years, at least nine other state and federal courts (excluding cases still pending on appeal) have ruled that marriage laws are not discriminatory, but have a rational basis in “responsible procreation.”

Burlington Free Press:  Same-sex marriage rights received the endorsement Monday of four Vermont professional organizations that cited research findings that “children of lesbian and gay parents are as likely as those of heterosexual parents to flourish.” . . .  Their …

AP: Legislative leaders in Vermont pledged Thursday to push for passage of a gay marriage bill before the session ends in May, saying allowing civil unions was a good start but it’s now time to end the “inequality” of existing …

Liberty Counsel: Today Liberty Counsel filed its brief before the Virginia Court of Appeals on behalf of Lisa Miller and her six-year-old daughter, Isabella, arguing that Virginia law prohibits the enforcement of a child custody order arising out of a …

. . . New Hampshire’s state motto is ‘Live Free or Die.’ But is New Hampshire the most free place to live in the United States? Apparently it is, according to a new study, Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom . . .

Baptist Press: “Pennsylvania is the most pro-life state in the country, while California is the least, according to the 2009 rankings by Americans United for Life (AUL). . . . ” AUL press release: Pennsylvania Most Pro-Life State in America, …

Religion Clause Blog: “Vermont’s ACLU announced yesterday that it has filed suit against seventh-grade teacher Wally Rogers, the Irasburg (VT) School District, and Irasburg Village School principal Paul Simmons. The complaint (full text) filed in Vermont federal district court alleges …

WCAX.com: “Representatives Mark Larson and David Zuckerman will introduce legislation to move Vermont from civil unions to full marriage for same-sex couples. About 200 advocates are expected to be at the Statehouse today . . . “

LifeSiteNews: “The University of Vermont has cancelled a speaking engagement by Ben Stein, the writer and actor whose film ‘Expelled’ has enraged the secularist academic community with his critical views on their strident devotion to the secularist Darwinian theory . …

AP: “Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson is expected to testify today in favor of a bill allowing gay marriage in New Hampshire . . . “

Apparently the choice of media personality Ben Stein to be the commencement speaker at the University of Vermont generated such a brouhaha that Ben Stein bowed out. ON Monday, the UVM President Dan Fogel announced that Stein, whom Fogel had initially invited to come, would not be the speaker after all. Fogel said that Stein’s selection had generated an intense protest, that he had received hundreds of angry emails over the weekend and that after he had shared those “profound concerns” with Stein, Stein “immediately and graciously declined our commencement invitation.”

365Gay.com reports on the ongoing custody battle involving Lisa Miller and her former lesbian partner Janet Jenkins. Miller has been fighting court ordered visitation with Jenkins: . . . And Cohen warned Miller, the 6- year-old child’s birth mother, that …

WorldNetDaily reports: A Christian mother has been told by a Virginia court that her 6-year-old daughter must now visit the mother’s former lesbian partner in Vermont, and if she refuses, the law will remove the girl by force, if necessary. …

AP: “Vermont’s state auditor is hoping that downhill skiers might turn into high rollers. Auditor Thomas Salmon said the state should consider putting a casino at Killington – or other resort area – to raise money to repair the state’s …

OneNewsNow.com reports: New England activist groups are developing a strategy to claim their region for homosexual “marriage” in the next three years. Peter Sprigg of Family Research Council notes Connecticut and Massachusetts have already legalized same-sex marriage, leaving four states for …

State Sen. Dennis Damon is introducing a bill to end the prohibition on gay marriage in Maine. House Republican Josh Tardy, meanwhile, is proposing to bolster the state law restricting marriage to one man and one woman by making it a constitutional amendment . . .

Miller’s decision, which is in direct defiance of numerous court orders, may result in heavy fines, jail time, and loss of custody of her six year old child to lesbian Janet Jenkins . . .

WCAX.com reports: “Now Vermont could be on the cusp of becoming the next state to grant same-sex couples the right to marry. Senator John Campbell, D-Quechee, has introduced a bill that would do just that. It also grants religious institutions …

The Washington Times reports: Two New England states have already legalized same-sex marriage, and a Boston-based advocacy group wants to see the other four join them. Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, known as GLAD, has launched a first-of-its-kind regional …

EdNews reports: “Two weeks ago this space summarized a Maine program permitting many publicly funded students to attend a school of their choice from a variety of sources, both public and private.  A similar tuitioning program in Vermont involves fewer …

The Rutland Herald reports: In a potentially bankrupting slam to the state’s largest religious denomination, a jury ruled Wednesday that Vermont’s Catholic Church should pay nearly $3.6 million for negligence in hiring and supervising a pedophile priest . . .  …

ADF attorney Dave Cortman is scheduled to appear live on Fox News Channel’s “America’s News Headquarters” sometime between 3:30 and 4:00 PM AZT  today.  He will be talking about the Vermont John 3:16 license plate case that was recently argued …

NPR has posted this text and audio report discussing a cased filed by ADF which challenges Vermont’s denial of a vanity license plate – JN36TN. It carries this quote: “It’s straight-up religious speech,” says Jeremy Tedesco, a lawyer with the …

The AP reports: “The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand a ruling that Virginia must enforce a Vermont court order awarding child-visitation rights to a mother’s former lesbian partner. The high court Monday declined to hear the case of Lisa …

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys Jeremy Tedesco and David Cortman will be available for media interviews following Tedesco’s oral arguments in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit Monday in Byrne v. Rutledge. ADF attorneys filed suit against Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles officials, arguing that they unconstitutionally denied a man’s application for a specialty plate because of its religious reference.

Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas said Thursday he would oppose legislation allowing same-sex “marriages” . . .

“Vermont lawmakers will once again be looking at the idea of allowing gay couples to marry. Senator John Campbell says he plans to introduce a bill in January that legalizes same-sex marriage.”

This Note finds its impetus in the particular struggle over child visitation rights between Lisa Miller-Jenkins and Janet Miller-Jenkins. Miller-Jenkins v. Miller-Jenkins (“Miller v. Jenkins”) involves the interaction of Vermont, Virginia, and federal law. The case carries significance as more individuals leave the homosexual lifestyle, as more same-sex unions come to an end, and as the states wrestle with how to legally deal with the consequences.

LifeSiteNews.com reports: Lisa Miller, a woman who has repudiated the lesbian lifestyle, was held in contempt of court yesterday for refusing to allow child visitation for her former lesbian lover, Janet Jenkins . . . Although the judge deferred any …

LifeSiteNews.com reports: “Lisa Miller, a former lesbian who rejected the homosexual lifestyle and returned to her belief in Christ, will face contempt of court charges today for refusing to give unsupervised visitation of her daughter to her former lesbian partner …

The AP reports: The federal government is suing the state of Vermont for failing to report the amount of absentee ballots sent to Vermonters overseas for the 2006 general election. The U.S. Department of Justice complaint accuses Vermont Secretary of …

In what he characterized as a case of first impression, Justice Beeler found that the parties’ entry into a Vermont Civil Union at the time that one of the women was pregnant “is strong evidence of the parties’ intention to create familial bonds for their and [the child's] benefit.”

Liberty Counsel reports: “Activist judges in Vermont have declared that a legal stranger is a mommy to another woman’s biological child. Now, a Vermont judge will decide whether to order the six year old little girl be stripped from the loving …

The Richmond Times reports: Judge John R. Prosser of Frederick County Circuit Court yesterday dismissed Lisa Miller’s request to halt efforts to enforce a Vermont court’s orders granting Janet Jenkins visitation with the daughter born to she and Miller in …

Joanna Grossman has this commentary on Findlaw.  She writes: This case has been closely watched – and rightfully so. Perhaps better than any other, it depicts the perils and pitfalls of a national legal landscape in which states have such …

The AP reports: From the beach of Lake Willoughby’s Southwest Cove, the sheer cliffs of Mount Pisgah tower over the deep, frigid water. Across the narrows, Mount Hor’s peak completes the look of a Scandinavian fjord. In the summertime, the …

WorldNetDaily reports: The Virginia State Supreme Court whiffed today on an opportunity to preserve state sovereignty and solidify traditional marriage laws. Instead, the court upheld a ruling that may allow states like Massachusetts and Vermont to export homosexual marriage laws …

As the Court has shifted and reframed its logic in the last thirty-five years, a telling trend has emerged: the more willing justices are to invade and describe a pregnant woman’s private experience, the more likely they are to restrict access to abortion.

The Middlebury Union High School District, school officials will grant a student-run Bible club formal recognition. The change will allow members to gain access to the same benefits afforded to other campus clubs.

The Boston Globe reports: “Vt. commission stops short of recommending gay marriage.” The full text of the report can be accessed here.

“The long-awaited report to the Vermont Legislature on the possibility of expanding marriage rights to same-sex couples will be released Monday.”

Liberty Counsel has issued this press release. It reports: Today, Liberty Counsel presented oral argument at the Virginia Supreme Court in a case that highlights the conflict between states that recognize same-sex civil unions and those that do not. The …

The implications of this case are crucial in protecting states’ rights against same-sex “marriage” or same-sex civil unions.

On Thursday, April 17, 2008, the Virginia Supreme Court will hear the Lisa Miller case.

The children in her new class did not say the Pledge of Allegiance every day, a contrast to the daily ritual at her former public school in Shelburne.

A legislative committee charged with hearing Vermonters’ views on same-sex marriage will release its long-awaited report next month, but members are tight-lipped as to what its final contents will be.

365Gay.com reports that the Vermont Supreme Court has declined to reconsider its earlier ruling in favor of visitation for a former lesbian partner as against the child’s natural parent. Liberty Counsel’s March 13th press release discussing the case is here.

This is a precedent-setting legal battle between Virginia and Vermont over same-sex unions and the right of fit, biological parents against unrelated third parties.