Letters to the Editor
HRC
& Civil Unions
Thanks so much for the continuing great
work. It's thankless and much appreciated.
I wanted to respond to your recent
story about Cheryl Jacques' appointment to HRC, and the question of HRC's
role in the Vermont civil union struggle. I'm sorry I wasn't available
to comment for your story; I'm the person who has dealt most directly
with HRC over the past several years.
It's true that HRC's role in connection
with the long-term grassroots struggle, and the lawsuit, leading to the
passage of the civil union bill was limited. They respected our request
that out-of-state glbtq political groups let us do our own heavy lifting
here in Vermont. However, after the law passed, when the backlash set
in, our allies at HRC were invaluable in helping to mobilize resources
for the 2000 campaign. Again in 2002, HRC continued to make Vermont a
priority, actually placing a political organizer on the ground here and
again helping to recruit donors for VCU. HRC has twice awarded our lobbying
organization, VCULDF, grants ($5,000)
from the HRC Equality Fund, designed to help fund lobbying at the state
level. Along with many other organizations, HRC has been a valuable participant
in the work to establish and protect civil unions.
The main credit for the law obviously
goes to the Vermont activists and donors who made countless sacrifices
to make it possible. But we could not have done it alone: New England's
glbtq legal advocacy organization, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders
(GLAD), co-counsel in the Baker case and invaluable consultants
during the lobbying phase, stand out as the main organization to thank.
National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) provided an exceptionally generous
grant ($40,000), as did the Gill Foundation, to support the Vermont Freedom
to Marry Task Force's 2000 public education media campaign; the National
Gay & Lesbian Task Force
(NGLTF) helped train a VCU representative for the 2000 campaign.
Lambda Legal Defense & Education
Fund, the ACLU, NCLR, NOW, and various Vermont religious and professional
organizations filed supportive briefs in the Baker case; the Log Cabin
Republicans provided substantial support on the ground to pro-civil union
Republicans in the 2000 election; and HRC assisted in the ways outlined
above.
We should be proud of the work we
Vermonters did in leading the nation forward and laying the foundation
for the next step, but we're also grateful for the support we received
from so many supporters outside of Vermont. Given an achievement of this
magnitude, there's plenty of credit to go around.
Thanks!
Beth Robinson
Vermonters for Civil Unions