Vermont Governor
Would Reject Marriage Bill

Vermont governor Jim Douglas would oppose a law granting same-sex marriages, according to the Associated Press. The Republican governor said Thursday that the state's "current civil union law is sufficient."

State senator John Campbell, who said he would introduce the bill during the legislature's next session, said it won't gain much traction without the governor's backing.

Instead, the governor said, he would rather the legislature concentrate on the state's fiscal shortfalls. Vermont has accrued a $36.8 million revenue shortfall, with a $27 million request for new spending. However, Campbell and Vermont's Freedom to Marry Task Force's Beth Robinson say that Douglas is asserting that the legislature can only take on one issue at a time.

"The notion that working on civil rights takes away from these other issues really is a false one," Robinson told the Associated Press. (Michelle Garcia, The Advocate)