Montpelier – With four years of civil unions under their belts and the recent celebration of the first anniversary of the gay marriage ruling in Massachusetts, gay and lesbian activists in Vermont are wondering if, when, and how same-sex marriage will ever be legal in the Green Mountain State.
      In an email to Out in the Mountains, Vermont Freedom to Marry co-founder Beth Robinson pointed to Associated Press polling as a bright spot. "Clearly the ground has shifted," she wrote. "November 2 exit polls in Vermont showed that a plurality of Vermonters support full marriage equality (40%), most of the rest support civil unions (37%), and a small minority of Vermonters continue to oppose any recognition and protection for same-sex couples (20%)."
      While Robinson characterized the poll as "good news," she said much work remains to be done. "We have made tremendous strides in our quest to persuade our fellow Vermonters that families formed by same-sex couples should be protected and respected by the laws," she said.
      "The bad news is that we still have some work to do to persuade a majority of Vermonters that families formed by same-sex couples should be treated equally under the law. People need to understand the ways that civil unions fall short. That's the focus of the Task Force's work now. Once we've established a new, sturdy foundation through public education, I expect we'll see renewed efforts in the legislature or courts."
     Rep. Bill Lippert (D-Hinesburg) agrees with Robinson's assessment. "I think it is premature for anyone in the lesbian and gay community to expect this newly elected legislature to take on this issue at this time, and I don't expect it will," Lippert told OITM. "This is a time for us to continue to do education."
      Come January, Democrats will hold the majority in the Vermont Senate, 21 to 9. Overturning the civil unions backlash of 2000, Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives, winning 83 seats compared to 60 for Republicans. The remaining seats are held by 6 Progressives and 1 independent.
     "We continue to have a Governor who did not support civil unions," Lippert added. "I'm a lot more focused on the success that we had in reversing the backlash defeat we had in 2000."
     Although the legislative and executive branches of government are unlikely to revisit the issue of civil unions or gay marriage, legal challenges regarding gay marriage could be filed in Vermont's courts.
     Attorney General Bill Sorrell (D) says that the state would not recognize a same-gender marriage performed in Massachusetts or Canada. "Vermont does have a statute that says that if two Vermonters go to another jurisdiction and enter a marriage that would not be recognized in Vermont, then that marriage will be of no validity when they return to the state," he said.
     A gay or lesbian couple legally married in Massachusetts or Canada could sue the state. "The court could say that couple has no relationship that is recognized at all under Vermont law. A second alternative is that they are validly married and they are afforded all of the recognition and protection that a traditional heterosexual marriage is afforded in Vermont. The third alternative is that the couple is deemed to be party to a civil union."
      Sorrell concedes his alternatives represent only a guess as to how courts in Vermont might rule, a conclusion both Beth Robinson and Bill Lippert agree on.

Paul Olsen covers politics for OITM and lives in Colchester. He also writes for Boston-based in newsweekly.