Vermont Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
04/08/2009Just four days after being legalized in Iowa, same-sex marriage became legal in Vermont on April 7, 2009, when the Vermont legislature voted to override Governor Jim Douglas’ veto of a bill that extended the right to marry to same-sex couples. The bill had to be supported by two-thirds majorities of both the Vermont Senate and House of Representatives to override the veto. The new law will take effect September 1, 2009.
Vermont is now the fourth state (after Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa) to legalize same-sex marriage. Unlike the other states where same-sex marriage was legalized by judicial rulings, Vermont is the first state to legalize same-sex marriage by legislative action.
Now that same-sex couples can legally marry in four states, employers nationwide should prepare for increased requests for spousal benefit coverage from employees who have legally married their same-sex partners. For more information, see McDermott’s On the Subject “Same-Sex Marriage Legalized in Iowa and Pending in Vermont” available at http://www.mwe.com/info/news/ots0409c.htm.
