My Position On Gay Marriage - March 29, 2009

[Gary Gilbert]

The Senate and House committees have completed their work and the full House will begin debate on S.115, the Equality in Civil Marriage bill this week. Calls, notes and e-mail from my constituents have been evenly divided on this issue. The Doyle poll results for Fairfax and Georgia are similarly divided. There is honest disagreement about how the rights of majorities and minorities should be valued. My friends have differing opinions. But the question really reaches into the very basis of a society where the role of government is to value and protect each individual. That is why I support S.115.

This bill continues to recognize the right of individuals to practice their religious beliefs without interference from government or other religion groups. It does not make any changes in the practices or beliefs of any religion. It preserves the right to equal protection of the law.  These rights are expressed in Article 3 of the Vermont Constitution, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and the Baker decision of the Vermont Supreme Court.  Every legislator took the Oath of Office, where we promised not to consent to any act that will reduce “rights and privileges, as declared by the Constitution”.  Every Legislator promised to make decisions within the limits imposed by these documents.

Simply because I, as an individual, believe that marriage is a Sacrament and chose to be married within a Church, does not mean that everyone must have the same beliefs. Others may choose a civil marriage ceremony, a civil union, a different Church, or nothing at all. These alternatives have absolutely no affect on my marriage, my faith, or my individual commitment to my wife and family. They cost me nothing.  The choice to marry is a public declaration of a personal choice made by a couple that loves and is committed to care for each other. As a person, I cannot deny the rights to others that I claim for myself. As a legislator, I must uphold the Vermont and U.S. Constitutions and my oath of office. I will do so.


Representative Gary Gilbert
ggilbert@leg.state.vt.us
Fairfax/Georgia

[sue]

Gary,  Very thoughtful response.  Thank you

[Rev. Elizabeth]

Thank you,Gary, for a calm, level-headed, well reasoned piece on gay marriage!  It is voices like yours that need to be heard.

[special ED]

you wrote it has no affect on your marriage ,faith or family  I say it does ,it erodes  away at the very core of your faith ,maybe not you, but your children...,my children...,it will have an impact for future generations and one step closer to the edge of where we should not go,in the end remember we all have to stand before the throne and give an account of our lives

[Loctavious]

I don't think teaching our kids tolerance is going to yield a negative decision in their favor when they 'stand in front of the throne'.

[Chris Santee]

Vermont Democrats killed a proposal in the Senate that would have allowed all Vermonters to have a fair and equal voice on same sex marriage via a non-binding statewide referendum.

In response to being shut out of the debate, individuals at that grassroots level acted to empower themselves and their neighbors by conducting online telephone surveys.

The results of these district by district surveys indicate that a significant majority of Vermonters agree that same sex marriage legislation should not be brought up during this legislative session.   

Here are the results, so far...

Georgia, Fairfax

32% -- Not now. The legislature should focus on economic issues.

38% -- No, the legislature should not pass same sex marriage.

(70%)

30% -- Yes, the legislature should pass same sex marriage now

[Loctavious]

Hi Chris.  Do you have the names and contact information for those individuals at the 'grassroots' level?  It's always a smart idea to know the sources of information.  Any information worth publishing should be able to be proved or credentialled.

[Chris Santee]

Vermont GOP 802-223-3411
received contributions from individuals from different districts.

[Chris Santee]

and this, just in............


Survey Shows Support For Gay Marriage
An unscientific survey taken by state. Sen. William Doyle shows that 55 percent
of Vermonters support gay marriage, 38 percent oppose it and 7 percent are
undecided.


MORE DETAILS: http://www.wptz.com/tu/5FFd6JmQz.html

[mirjo]

"you wrote it has no affect on your marriage ,faith or family  I say it does, it erodes  away at the very core of your faith ,maybe not you, but your children...,my children...,it will have an impact for future generations and one step closer to the edge of where we should not go,in the end remember we all have to stand before the throne and give an account of our lives"

I'm always amazed that in every controversial issue, sides seem to separate into two camps...one side is usually spouting the virtues of personal choice, equality, or civil rights depending what the issue is, while the other side of the fence takes a religious stance on the virtues of right and wrong. I don't know why that is.

Although I left the religious teachings of my childhood behind years ago, what I can recall is that God is supposed to be gracious, tolerant, and merciful. I believe I was taught as God's children we are supposed to be all those things in his image and be loving, caring and understanding toward one another other.

Unfortunately, this philosophy only seems to exist in some as long as everyone is the same, has the same beliefs, lifestyle, etc. It's disturbing. The only thing that erodes faith is that kind of attitude. It has eroded mine completely. I can't say what I believe anymore, but what I am pretty sure of is that I won't be judged for my harsh judgment or intolerance of others choices.

That said, I will add that your stance is frightening SpecialEd, but you're entitled to it, because you live in a free country. We are all entitled to our beliefs, opinions, way of life, etc. I don't think anything major is going to change in your life when this law passes. I am fairly certain that when the first same-sex marriage occurs it will not cause anything  in your or my life to change, of course, that's just my opinion.  But I would like to know if anything happens, so maybe you could let us know. Good or bad.

[special ED]

I see when political issues go your way we are just religious nuts but when they go our way we are right wing extremists....yes loving but just,mirjo I`M SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS OF FAITH everybody goes through rough times ,times of questions and dought,but in the end it`s your decision ,you have been given free will to do what you want .dont blame God for your mistakes

[gpdvt]

Its good to hear from someone who can separate their personal belief system and the emotion behind it, to make an informed decision. I hope you can work with other reps who are stuggling with this issue to come to a clear decision.

[jasony]

Yesterday was my friend's 27th birthday.  I called and said, hey gay marriage in Vermont!  He said yeah that's great, but I'm in California and I haven't had a date in 4 months.  We laughed, caught up; he complained about his professors, I complained about work.  In talking about mutual friends we inevitably took stock of who lost their job, which grants got pulled, who had to move back in with their chain smoking grandmother, etc.  We did that yesterday and it was a buzz-kill, but to end the conversation with "four states for marriage equality, this is great" --- truly, that was a gift.

I live in Austin, TX with two friends from Fairfax.  We piled into my car with Vermont plates and drove around town yesterday.  Technically we drove my car because it's the only car that's serviceable right now and we needed groceries, but genuinely, the Vermont plates were a hit.  People WAVED!  There's a prevailing mood of gloom and cynicism here, just as there is all over the country, especially around the university where nobody knows what will come of them after graduation; but when the state (any state) does something to protect individual liberty, not to take it away or ignore it as less important, at a time when politicians are promising "bold moves" without quite understanding what will happen: it provides the kind of hope that what will get us through this recession.  If the state is to be trusted to go into incomprehensible debt in an attempt to restore our economy, the state must also show its citizens, who will have to pay for this debt, that it trusts them as 300 million individuals to have the values and intelligence to handle such a burden.  That isn't done by mandate or by expecting the government to list out what those values or hard work will be.  We're Americans.  We'll figure it out on our own, we're the most inventive, resourceful people in the world, but it can't happen if we lose sight of equality and the basic principles on which this country was founded. 

Tomorrow is my own birthday, and I'll be turning 27 as well.  My friend and I were born two days apart, but our poor mothers went into labor on the same day, on the 6th.  (So, so sorry mom.  On so many levels.)  I know my friend will call, and since we'll have nothing to talk about since we exhausted all that chit-chat two days earlier, I think I might tell him to check out this site - I'm really proud of some of the comments on here, especially this public letter from Representative Gilbert.  The rest of the country could learn a lot from the Vermonter's dependence on holding one's own.  I keep telling people, trust me, they are plenty sick of gay marriage in Vermont, it's the LAST thing on their minds.  But what they will NEVER put up with the government telling them what they can and can't do, which is exactly what Douglas was doing with that belligerent veto. 

Good work, Vermont.