Equality Fairfax

Congratulations to the citizens of Vermont and Iowa! Last week’s Iowa Supreme Court ruling and today’s vote in Vermont have brought great news to a community still a bit numb from the setback in California. The best part of today’s news is that the Vermont legislature was able to override a veto from the governor and that for the first time in America, a state has passed a marriage equality law without a court ruling.

New England has become the epicenter of marriage equality in America with Vermont joining Massachusetts and Connecticut. Six percent of the states now support marriage equality. That’s a small percentage but it’s double the three percent it was a week ago.

Virginia is still far behind these states legislatively, judicially and socially, but as the rest of the country sees that world really isn’t going to end because two men get married and that the sky won’t fall when two women say, “I do” then we’ll experience some climate change of a positive sort.

Congratulations to Iowa, Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts and thanks for blazing a trail for the rest of us to follow!

There are many details available yet, but Connecticut appears poised to be the third state to support marriage equality. Here is one article that provides some detail.

This has been a four year journey through the legal system and it’s timing, coming just a month before the election, could have some effect on the national debate. I suppose this ruling, like those in California and Massachusetts is going to spawn another amendment effort but, for now, at least, we have another state where equality has the upper hand.