Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000 00:39:34 -0500 (EST)
Dear All,
Christopher Reeve once explained that "family values" means that "We
are all family and we all have value." Throughout this nation, there are
people who very much want to be family -- who really are family -- but the
law says to them no, you cannot be family. Because you are both men, or
you are both women, no matter how much you love each other, we, the state,
we will not recognize you as family, as a married couple.
In December 1999, the Supreme Court of Vermont took a step ahead of
the rest of the nation when it said that "the state is constitutionally
required to extend to same-sex couples the common benefits and protections
that flow from marriage under Vermont law." In other words, while the
Court did not explictly say that gay and lesbian couples could marry (in a
partial dissent, one particularly just justice did say this) -- it left
this up to the legislature -- the Court did say that these couples are
entitled to the same benefits that the law provides married couples. No
other court in the nation has even said that before.
In the words of the Court, acknowledging gays and lesbians "as
Vermonters who seek nothing more, nor less, than legal protection and
security for their avowed commitment to an intimate and lasting human
relationship is simply, when all is said and done, a recognition of our
common humanity."
As Vermont's legislature considers exactly how it will implement the
Court's ruling, the Governor's office is apparently receiving many calls
from those who would delay the day when the promise of equality for all
becomes a reality. Add your name to the list below to let Vermont's
Lieutenant Governor know that you want to hurry (and would like him to
help hurry) that day of equality. (See below.)
Yours,
Eric
PS In order to speed the process of reaching 50 names (see below; there
are currently 41 on this list), I would suggest that you don't not
forward this e-mail to someone because you think they might have already
received it. If you have multiple copies, sign the one with the most
names. Then forward it along! Thank you.
PPS Since the e-mail on AIDS in Africa a few weeks ago, about 100,000
more people in Africa have died of AIDS. Please don't accept this
tragedy in silence....
"I have only dreams: to build a better world, a world of harmony
and understanding, a world in which it is a joy to live. This is not
asking for too much." -- Yitzhak Rabin
[Petition no longer active.]
Back to Better World.