All language subtitles for The.State.of.Marriage.2015.1080p.WEBRip.x265-RARBG

[instrumental music playing]

[applause]

[cheering]

[man] We bring you
great news from
the great state of Vermont!

Remember December 20th, 1999,

for when the Vermont
Supreme Court changed

the world,
as we knew it, forever.

I want to introduce you

to two extraordinary
Vermonters,

Beth Robinson
and Susan Murray.

[crowd cheering]

Hah!

Ladies and gentlemen,

from the bottom
of my heart, I wish

for each and every one of you
the exact same opportunity

for inclusion and respect

that we now have
in Vermont.

The struggle
for marriage equality
is an ongoing struggle.

It's not over.

In the Civil Rights Movement,
I saw with my own eyes

that you cannot have
equality for some
and not equality for all.

Everyone must be included.

Everyone must have
a place at the table.

What Susan
and Beth did

was

in keeping with
what Rosa Parks

and others did.

[woman] One morning,
I came in to work

and I read about a car accident
in the newspaper.

A woman had died

and another woman
who had been driving
was severely injured.

And there was
an 18-month-old little boy
in the back seat.

And there was this
horrible, insinuating
kind of story

about the fact that
that woman who had died

and the woman
who was driving the car

were in this relationship.

The dead woman's parents
were coming up

to Vermont to take
the little baby.

And I just couldn't...

I just couldn't, uh,
I couldn't...

I couldn't stand that.

And I represented her
through the custody battles.

There were
a lot of people
living in this state,

in the shadows,
in exactly this kind
of a relationship,

outside of the purview
of the law.

And because I was
in the newspaper,

they started coming
to see me.

So that's how I developed

a gay and lesbian
legal practice,
family law practice.

In the 1980's, and even
into the 1990's,

gay people
were under siege.

We certainly had
no legal right to marry,

we had no state level
recognition of
our families whatsoever.

When I first started
in law in 1987,

I literally
saw contracts

that said a person
could be fired from their job

simply because they're gay.

The whole history
of our Constitution

is the story
of including those

who were once excluded.

In 1996,
no state allowed marriage,

and part of the purpose
of the federal
Defense of Marriage Act

was to invite states
to discriminate
against same-sex couples.

And states accepted
that invitation with alacrity.

[Evan]
People were losing
their kids in custody cases,

people were being
discriminated against,

even after years
of military service.

It's difficult for people today
to appreciate how recently

things were horrible.

[Susan]
I first met Beth...

I think it was the summer
of 1987.

[Beth] I was
a brand new intern.

A summer law clerk

at the law firm
at Langrock Sperry & Wool.

I saw some of
the important work
Susan was doing,

especially as it related
to lesbian and gay families.

I quickly realized
that a lot of
the legal protections

that heterosexual
married couples
don't even think about

weren't there
for same-sex couples.

Susan quickly became
a professional mentor
to me, and...

It was the beginning
of a fast friendship.

Antonio, come on!

[Susan] Beth is a small
and incredible bundle of energy

and always has been.

I've met a lot
of smart people
in my lifetime,

but she has an exquisite
legal mind.

But she's also a blast.

She would eat
nothing but Pixy Stix.

She would just eat
Pixy Stix after Pixy Stix.

That was her sugar fix.

[Beth] I grew up in Indiana,

but I was part of a big,
happy family.

Wonderful parents.

As a young girl,
I was enthralled
by Atticus Finch

in To Kill a Mockingbird.

I don't want to
make too much of it,

but I think the notion
of a small-time lawyer who

helps their neighbors

and can be relied upon

to do the right thing,

even when doing
the right thing might
make them unpopular.

I mean, what's not
to admire about that?

[Susan] My parents
were the epitome to me

of what it was like
to be a committed
married couple.

They sacrificed everything
for their kids.

I knew I was... gay

probably fairly early on,
as a teenager,

but that was not a time
when there was even
such a word as "lesbianism."

I eventually came out
to my parents
when I met someone.

And it was hard on them
initially.

They went to a counselor,
who actually happened to be
a Roman Catholic nun.

And apparently, the nun
told them... Asked them
whether I was happy,

and my parents said, "Yes,"

and the nun said,
"Then, don't worry
about it."

[laughs] That was the response
and so, that's where they...
That's where they ended up.

Karen and I met in 1986,
at our friend's house.

We were all going
to sit down and watch
The Wizard of Oz,

and we just hit it off.

And then we just
kept talking, and we've
been talking ever since.

Mary Bonauto
and Evan Wolfson were

the earliest
and most persuasive voices

on these questions
of marriage equality.

And that was very important
to my own evolution
on the issue.

In early 1994,

I pulled together
lawyers from around
the six New England states,

to meet at GLAD,
and to talk

about the opportunity
that we now had

to really pursue
the marriage issue.

There were people
at the table who thought
this was a folly.

Even reckless.

Beth and Susan
clearly said there is
a path forward in Vermont.

[Susan] In 1994, Beth and I
set up a little workshop.

[Beth] This is for
the annal.

Hello.

Hi, Beth.

Susan?

Susan, this is for
the historical record.
Say hello.

Hello. [laughs]

One of the questions
I asked was,

"What do you think
about taking on
the idea

of working toward marriage
for gay couples?"

And most of the people
in the room said that sounds
like a terrible idea.

I remember them
talking about...

"We have this goal
of establishing marriage
in Vermont."

And there was
a group of us
and we're sitting there

and I have to tell you,
I was like, "Marriage?

Really?"

[Susan] The only discussion
about gay marriage
was happening in Hawaii,

you know, what, 6,000 miles
away from Vermont.

[Evan] I was co-counsel
on the Hawaii case,

but, ultimately,
we didn't succeed in Hawaii,
and the reason was

we weren't as effective
in making the case

in the court
of public opinion

as we were
in making the case
in the court of law.

[Susan] By 1995,

Beth and I, along with about
a half dozen other volunteers

formed the Vermont Freedom
to Marry Task Force.

We had no money,
and a lot of energy.

[Beth] We knew that this
wasn't gonna succeed

if it was the gay community
by itself.

This had to be
something that...

Fairmont and Vermonters
across the political spectrum
embraced.

Beth Robinson
and Susan Murray

had this kind
of traveling roadshow.

They would go
to the county fairs,
They'd set up their table,

and the goal was to
just tell stories.

To introduce gay
and lesbian couples to people
in an unexpected place.

And believe me,
a county fair would be
an unexpected place

to meet a gay rights
advocacy group.

[Beth] Joseph Watson
and another volunteer
built this giant booth,

It was eight-feet high,
and 16-feet wide.

It filled an entire space
at the fair.

I remember sitting
in the booth, kinda nervous,
and I see a guy...

Dirty jeans, flannel shirt,
John Deere cap,
and I think, "Oh.

This is one of these hostile
encounters we've been
training people for."

He stops, and pauses,
and says,

"My son is gay.

I love him dearly,
and I'm glad you're here."

And then he turns
and walks away.

And I realize

I've just engaged
in exactly the kind
of stereotyping

that I'm asking
other people
not to engage in.

And it...

It was an eye-opening
moment.

[Mary] At some point,
we had to decide

was there going to be
a marriage case,
and if so, when?

And in 1996,
I drove up to Beth's home,

Susan was there,

and we sat down
and talked about
what would be ahead.

And we believed,
all three of us believed,

that we each had something
unique to offer.

I think in the early days,
I was the undisciplined,
impulsive one of the group.

Really? Why is that?

I don't know,
'cause people say that.

Oh. [laughs]

No, I can tell you
that I felt...

I mean, I was just
a brand new lawyer, and,

suddenly, I was sorta
hanging out with

a giant in the movement
and a giant in Vermont,

I mean, I think over time,
we sorta, you know,
I caught up, hopefully.

I'm not a giant, but I mean,
like, equalized.
I felt more like a peer,

but I think, at first,
I felt like
the summer intern.

You came in like,
"Oh, I'm this new lawyer,"
and so on,

but you were
on everything.

You would ask the most
incisive questions,
completely, like...

-Exactly.
-Had analyzed everything.

So, the two of you, I just
felt like, "Don't give me this."

[Susan] Mary gave Beth and I
some street cred, if you would,

some credibility
with the national
legal groups,

'cause there might be
some tendency to think

that we might be
some yahoos who didn't know
what we were doing.

There were a lot of people
from outside of Vermont

that wanted to try
to control this case,

and Mary said no.

You know, that's not
gonna happen.

This is a Vermont case,
these are Vermont lawyers.

This is gonna be
a Vermont matter.

Mary didn't care
whether Beth and Susan
got credit,

and Beth and Susan
didn't care whether
Mary got credit.

And that characterized,
I think, their relationship
from the very beginning.

[Susan] We were looking for
three plaintiff couples,

who were going to be
rock-solid as couples,

who were articulate,

and willing to go through
the trouble of being in front
of the media,

and working really hard
without complaint.

Ultimately, um,

the folks that we all know
and love as the plaintiffs
in the Baker case...

Each of them brought
something different
to the mix,

and each of them
brought something vital
to the mix.

[Susan] Holly and Lois.

When we first ran into them,
they were together
for 25 years already.

They'd already raised
a child,

they'd done incredible amounts
of volunteer work,

building for
Habitat for Humanity,

riding their bicycles
across country
for the Girl Scouts,

very active in their church,

and they just
wanted to get married.

What do I love
about Lois? Wow.

She's kind, she's caring,
she's gentle.

[Lois] Okay,
so that's a dollar, 75...

Two dollars.
3.07 please.

Holly and I
have been together 41 years,
one month and five days.

Holly's my companion,
my friend.

We share a lot.

How'd we meet?
[laughs] Whoops!

I was teaching
statistics class,

and there was this
very attractive gray-haired,
lanky woman.

And it turns out
it was Lois, and...

We did behave ourselves.

We didn't do any, what one
would now call dating,

until after the semester
was over.

-This tastes good.
-Yeah.

[Lois] We just decided
that we would spend
the rest of our lives together.

[Susan] Stan and Peter

are two of the most
gentle people.

Stan's a therapist,
and now actually
an Episcopal priest,

and Peter's a musical
theater professor.

[Stan] When I came out
publicly, in mid-life,

I dated some other guys
and it was fun,
but it wasn't love.

But with Peter,
there's something...

He radiated
in his intelligence,
and his maturity,

and in his innocence.

It was clear,
he was deeply special.

Stan, he's very handsome,
he's funny,

he's understanding.

He really allows me
to be myself,

in a much deeper way than
I ever really thought I could.

[Susan] Stacy and Nina
brought us
this wonderful energy,

and they brought
their child with them, Noah.

I met Stacy
doing martial arts,

which is something
that's near and dear
to both of our hearts.

She has a very unique way
of looking at the world,

and had a strong sense
of spirituality,

and I felt
very drawn to that.

Nina's unbelievably sexy.

She's 58 years old, and...

I still think
she blows away any woman
in any room.

And it's pretty amazing
to have that alive

after 23 years.

On June 17th, 1997,

Peter and I went
into the Shelburne
Town Clerk's office

and said, "We would like
a marriage license."

And she didn't want
to say no, and yet,
the laws of the state

said that she had to say no.

Once the town clerks
denied their requests
for marriage licenses,

it was really our turn
as their lawyers
to take it from there.

Three homosexual couples
filed a lawsuit today,

challenging a Vermont State
law that prohibits
same-sex marriages.

The plaintiffs say
the ban violates
the Equal Protection Clause

in the State Constitution.

All of a sudden,
we were the center
of attention.

Life got complex,
if not, crazy.

I'm the pastor
of the Cambridge United Church,

I've been married
to my wife, Deb,
for 39 years.

Yes, 39 years.

Homosexual behavior

is a desecration
of the very image

and reality of who we are
as human beings.

Early on, we got
leaders together,

we got input
from the folks
in Hawaii,

we got a scope
of what the battle
was going to be,

we determined
we were the ones
that would have to be

getting together
to do something
about it.

Good morning.
I'm Beth Robinson.

I'm thrilled to work
with Susan Murray
on this case,

and I'm honored to represent
the plaintiffs that
we're representing.

These plaintiffs
want to get married.

They want to marry
each other

for the same reasons
that many people
want to marry each other.

They love each other,

they want to make
a public, legal commitment
to one another.

Their lives
are already interwoven

emotionally, spiritually,
financially.

and they're seeking
legal protection
and responsibilities

that flow from civil marriage.

To Beth's right,
are Lois Farnham

and her partner of 25 years,
Holly Puterbaugh.

To Mary's left,
are Stan Baker
and Peter Harrigan.

There's a third couple
involved in this lawsuit,

Stacy Jolles and Nina Beck.

Unfortunately, Stacy and Nina
could not be here today.

Yesterday, their
two-and-half-year-old son
was rushed to the hospital

with a serious lung condition,

so obviously, that takes
precedence over
this press conference.

[Stacy]
Noah was our first child.

He was born
with a heart condition.

People called him,
"The Buddha."

He was... a very old
and wise spirit.

Noah died.

August 29th.

Waiting for
a heart transplant.

At Boston Children's hospital...

in my arms.

They didn't know
what to do with us.

They came... The man came
to sign a death warrant,

and the mother's name,
fine, they put that
in the spot,

the father's name...
and we told them
Stacy's name could go there.

And he could not
get that.

He could not
understand that.

I literally sat
with this man
for at least an hour,

trying to explain to him
my relationship to Noah.

And finally, a friend
who was there with us, said,

"Just put her name there."

And he did.

Beth and Susan
were right there with us,
with Noah.

They, um...

asked if we wanted
to step out of the lawsuit
at that point.

And for me, there was no way
I would step out
of the lawsuit.

It was more important
than ever to...

protect the rights
of children,

who had gay
or lesbian parents.

[Beth] In the December
of 1997, the Superior Court
issued an order,

saying that the towns
did not violate
the Constitution

by denying
the licenses.

[Mary] So we're on our way
to the Vermont Supreme Court,

and it consumed
all of us.

Every day, we spent
hours on the phone,

going through things
line by line.

And this went on
for months,

before we finally felt
like our briefs
were polished enough

and ready to file
in the Vermont Supreme Court.

[Eve] When the Baker case
came into
the Attorney General's office,

we had to come up with
what we thought

were plausible reasons
for the legislature

to have said that
marriage would be between
one man and one woman,

and we came up with about
six different rationales.

Normally, a brief
to the Supreme Court
would be 30 pages long,

and we got permission
to make it longer.

In fact, our brief
was over 90 pages long.

At some point, we had
to make a decision about

who was going to argue
the case in front of
Vermont Supreme Court.

It was actually my call.

I being the senior partner.

From my perspective,

Mary couldn't do it,
'cause she wasn't a Vermonter.

And then, between Beth and me,

I thought that Beth
was the better person
to argue.

She's a brilliant mind,

and really had all of
the constitutional law issues
at her fingertips.

I felt a lot of pressure,
but, um...

but I was also thrilled
to be doing it.

I knew that if I fell
flat on my face,

and embarrassed myself
in front of my colleagues,
and the community,

and the plaintiffs,
and everybody
who was counting on me,

I still had someone
to come home to,
who was gonna...

support me, come hell
or high water.

But it wasn't as though
Kim was home,

waiting for me
with my slippers at the door,

She was in medical school
and then she was a resident

and then she was starting
her medical practice,

and so, we were both
running around like maniacs.

[Susan] In order to get ready
for an oral argument

of this magnitude,

you don't just
read the briefs
the night before

and say, "Oh, okay.
I think I'm ready."

[Beth] We really struggled
with how to put together
the argument.

And I just really
wanted to get away

from just the legal pieces.

I wanted to tell
a story.

We gathered lawyers
in Boston,

and Beth made
a presentation.

And they critiqued
her approach.

And they said, "That
just wasn't right,
there's something wrong.

It just was off."

And we drove back
to Vermont,

and I have a very distinct
memory of being

in Beth's living room.
I think it was a Sunday night.

And she said,
"How about this?"

[Beth] I said,
"Susan, I want to try out
something on you."

And so, I tried out this...

introduction that I had
been thinking about,

and it was a story
not about a same-sex couple.

It was about a court
in California, in 1948,

that found itself
in a very similar situation.

And it talked about
all the parallels.

And it talked about
what that court did.

And I just went,
"That's it."

That's it. That's it.
She had it.

[man] Finally, the day came.
People lined up outside
the Supreme Court building.

They handed out tickets
to the oral argument.

The courtroom
itself was full.

There were radio
and television reporters
from around the world.

They set up chairs
in this large room outside

and they carried the video
out there so that
everyone could see it.

[Jeff] And the first thing
that struck me, walking
into the courtroom, was that

I've never seen it
so crowded.

You know, there was
an atmosphere there

that was unusual
and extraordinary.

Representing the appellants,
Stan Baker et al.,
is Beth Robinson.

Representing the appellee,
the State of Vermont,

are Eve Jacobs-Carnahan
and Tim Tomasi.

[Beth] May it please
the court.

The question in this case

is not whether
we in this room,
as individuals,

approve of a policy
that permits same-sex
couples to marry.

The question in this case
is rather

whether the legislature,
having adopted
a marriage statute

that permits only
opposite-sex couples
to marry,

has acted
unconstitutionally.

Plaintiffs here seek a right
which has never been granted

in any state
in the United States,

or in any country
in the world.

[Mary] To be in the Vermont
Supreme Court on that day
was... electric.

I had enormous confidence
in Beth, we all did,
and for good reason.

[Susan] Beth is so short,
she had to put the little step
down, so she could stand on it,

so she could be seen
over the dais.

And she just
started talking.

And you could hear
a pin drop.

Susan Murray,
Mary Bonauto, and I

have the privilege
of representing,
this morning,

Nina Beck and Stacy Jolles,

Stan Baker and Peter Harrigan,

and Holly Puterbaugh
and Lois Farnham.

Fifty years ago,

the California Supreme Court
handed down its decision,

in the landmark case
of Perez v. Lippold,

striking down California's ban
on interracial marriage.

The parallels between
that case and this case
are striking.

It's easy to sit here,
in 1998, and look back

and say that
that decision
was an easy one.

Of course, the ban
on interracial marriage
was unconstitutional.

But at the time,

30 of the 48 states
in this country prohibited
interracial marriage.

In fact, six found it so odious
that they prohibited it
by constitutional provision.

Nine out of ten Americans
opposed interracial marriage.

In fact, the notion
of a black person
and a white person marrying

was as antithetical

to many people's conceptions
of what a marriage was

as the notion of a man
marrying a man,

or a woman
marrying a woman

appears to be
to the State of Vermont today.

It was by far,
the best oral argument
I've ever seen.

Thank you so much
to Mary Bonauto
from GLAD,

to Susan Murray,
from Langrock Sperry & Wool
in Middlebury,

and to Beth Robinson,
you rock!

[crowd cheering]

[man] After the oral argument,
the justice assigned a case.

In this case,
that would have been me.

We'll prepare a draft
to circulate it
to the other justices.

They'll be back
and forth on the issues,

and that process can take
the better part of a year.

We had a lot to do
during that time.

Vermont Freedom to Marry
Task Force was busier
than ever.

Susan and I,
we were still working
full time,

and then taking these trips
on the road, and I can just
remember

we got out of a meeting,

it was a week night...

It was probably 10:00,
and we still had a three-hour
drive home.

We hadn't had dinner.
I can remember going to
some convenience mart,

and not finding anything
that we could stand to eat.

I just remember thinking,
"Wow, this is going to be
a long haul."

But, as exhausting
as that was,
I also thought,

"This is fun."

[Mark Candon] Vermont was
an unbelievably idyllic,
wonderful place

to grow up,
when I was a kid.

And it's not nearly
as good now.

The fourth commandment
in the Catholic Church,

is, "Honor thy father
and thy mother."

And that withstood

5,700 years
of Judeo-Christian history.

Now, we're gonna take
a step and go
another direction?

Why?

Marriage is a foundational
institution,

and for me, personally,

it's the relationship
that I have with my wife,

and my children,
and my grandchildren.

Homosexuality from
a Biblical point of view

is harmful to the people,
to society,

and to their growth
and closeness to God.

I have heard many
of our opponents

say that for two women
to live together
in a marriage,

the Bible says that
it's an abomination.

First thing I
can point out is,

if we believe everything
written in the Bible,

you better go
find yourselves slaves,

because the Bible tells you
very carefully, how to
take care of slaves.

In the same chapter where
it says that it's abomination
for two men to lie together,

it also says you should not
eat anything on cloves,

which takes away pigs,

you should not eat shellfish,
which takes away shrimp...

You should not wear clothes
of mixed fiber,

which our good,
normal polyester-cotton
mixes would be gone.

I think love is the real
message in the Bible.

And it's love
at all levels.

Between the time
of the oral argument

and the time of
the Supreme Court's decision
finally came out,

we had our second son.

[Nina] Our son Seth
was born just a month before
the decision was announced,

and it was wonderful
that he was here.

[Stacy] He is the most
extroverted human being

I think you can possibly
ever meet.

I don't know how
two introverts could create
such an extrovert.

But he genuinely
loves people.

So the Vermont Supreme Court
always issues its decisions
on a Friday.

I wore the same suit
every Friday.

Because it's the suit
I wanted to wear

for the press conference
when the decision came down.

People started making fun
of me because they'd see
my Friday suit on.

I just switched suits 'cause
the suit was really

seasonally appropriate
for the winter,
but not the summer.

And the weather started
getting cold again,

and I went back to
my old press conference suit.

It felt like a long wait.

When the Baker decision
came out,

it was on a Monday morning
and it took everyone
by surprise.

I got a heads-up call
from someone I know,

close to the court, who said,
"Stand by, we've got
a big decision

just about to be released."

And it was about 10:30 a.m.

And our deadline, drop-dead
deadline, was 10:30
in the morning,

and I called my editors,
and said, "Hold the press."

It was one of those
real "Hold the press" moments.

The decision is coming over
the fax line, one very slow
page at a time,

and it was 80 some odd pages.

We had a press conference.
We had to read the decision

in the car, while we were
driving up to Burlington.

But we did stop at her house
on the way, so she could
change into her suit.

A decision from the Vermont
Supreme Court today has moved
Vermont one step closer

to allowing same-sex couples
to marry.

The decision is being called
the first of its kind
in the nation.

[reporter] The Vermont
Supreme Court says gay
and lesbian couples

must be granted
the same benefits
and protections

given married couples
of the opposite sex.

But the High Court stopped
short of giving gay couples
the right to marry

instead, passing the issue on
to the Vermont Legislature.

Mary and I got on the phone
right after we got the decision

and really wrestled with
how do we see this.

Did we win?
Did we lose?

The court got
the "what" right,

equality, but got
the "how" wrong.

Because the court threw
it to the legislature.

I had to take the good
with the bad,
the bitter with the sweet,

and move on.

This is the first time
that any State Supreme Court
in this country

has not only recognized

that same-sex families exist,
but, for the first time,
has recognized

that they have the same needs
and deserve
the same protections

and rights as all other couples
and families.

That's a first, that's a legal
and cultural milestone.

I mean, this came out
of left field,
and, all of a sudden,

they find, after 200 years
of the Vermont Constitution,

special rights
for special people.

I thought that was
a combination of craftiness

and cowardice.

And both of those
made me angry.

Beth was...

devastated by the decision,
because...

it was...

half a loaf.

And I was...

I was happy with the fact
that we had made some progress.

[Peter] When I first heard
about marriage equality,

I really thought it was
not even that great
an idea.

I'll be candid with you.

You know, I remember
being called into
the governor's office.

I was President of the Senate,
Howard Dean was governor
at that time,

and there was very few
of us in there,

and we were reading
the opinion,

trying to figure out,
first of all, what it meant,

and, secondly, what we were
going to do about it.

And we knew that
there was a real risk,

we knew that there
was gonna be huge
political casualties.

[David] Senate leadership
was very nervous about this.

So, they went
to Governor Dean,

in a secret meeting,

and they said, "Is there
any way we can delay this
until after the election?"

And Howard said, "No,

we have to do this now.
We have to do it."

Most people in politics never
get to vote on an issue
that is critical

for the betterment
of the country,

and at the same time,
toxic to their possibility
of re-election.

When I grew up,
it was common,
and I did it all the time,

to make incredibly unkind
and disparaging remarks
about gay people.

If you had told me, that I
was gonna sign the first
Marriage Equality bill

in the United States
of America,

I would have not only
told you you were crazy,

I would have tried
to kick you in the butt
and beat you up.

[Kevin] The morning after
the Baker decision came down,

I picked up the phone
and called Beth and Susan's
law firm,

and I got Susan
on the phone.

I said, as any good
pitchman does,

"Hi, I'm Kevin Ellis
from Kimbell, Sherman, Ellis.
You don't know who I am...

And you're now headed
into a three ring circus.

Do you have any idea
what you're about to face?"

And she said, "No,

but I have CNN
on the other line,
can I call you back?"

[Susan] And they offered
to be our lobbyists.

And I think I told them,
"Well, that's nice,
but we can't pay you."

And they said,
"Don't worry about it."

[Kevin] Beth and Susan
were lawyers, they weren't
political organizers.

So suddenly, they had to build
a political organization
from scratch.

I was going to a fund raiser
for the Vermont Freedom
to Marry Task Force,

and I met Beth and Susan.
They were a brilliant team.

Here, you have
the best legal minds

getting the gay and lesbian
community playing politics.

Hardball politics.

Hardball electoral politics.
For the first time ever.

Vermont was the stepping stone
to all the other states.

If it could happen
in Vermont, it would happen
in the other states,

if we could stop it
in Vermont, we could
stop it in the other states.

We started holding rallies,
press conferences,

and lobbying legislatures.

We risk throwing away
all the things that
are inherent

in the foundational
unit of society.

People started calling us
and saying, "How do we help?
What can we do?"

We had a true
grassroots rebellion

on our hands,
in the State of Vermont.

We put together an ad,
I guess a 13 or 15 point,

uh, kinda communist...
Not communist.

Homosexual manifesto.
In other words, what they
wanted to do in America.

That ad ran in every paper
in the state,

and people were
calling me up,
out of the blue,

and I didn't know
who they were.

They'd even write
a check for $1,500 and say,

"Can you run
this same ad again?"

The eyes of the political
players across the country,

anyone that cared about
GLBT equality,

on our side
or against our side,

was focused like a laser beam
on Vermont.

[crowd protesting]

It was decided
that the House
would start the bill.

And so, it was assigned
to the Judiciary Committee.

[Susan] The House Judiciary
Committee was run
by Tom Little,

who was a Republican,

and a lawyer, and a very
even-keeled, great guy.

[Tom] The Judiciary Committee
had 11 members, and...

all political parties,
Republicans, Democrats,
Progressives, Independents,

we had all walks of life,
we had people from all
corners of the state.

I am a father,
a grandfather,

and a Republican.

I was born and raised here
in the state,

brought up on a dairy farm,

then I became
a State Trooper.

I retired in '92, and in '94,
I ran for the House.

And then the Supreme Court
decided the Baker case.

I said, "Oh, my God."

I know my district,
and I know the people
in Franklin County,

and I knew how they felt
about this issue.

And I frankly thought
I knew how I felt.

Members of the House
Judiciary Committee,

depending on their political
background, were
either terrified,

or excited that we were
taking this on.

[John] Our chair, Tom Little,
began to bring in
people to testify.

He brought in
the Attorney General.

He brought in
constitutional scholars

from both sides of the issue,
from all over the country.

And then we had
clergy come in.

And I gotta tell you,
I'd rather deal with the lawyers
than the clergy.

[Beth] Susan and I,
I think, were the first
witnesses

in the House Judiciary
Committee.

All eyes were
on that Committee room.

People were nervous.

Susan and I had the first
shot at making the case.

And... I don't think
I did a very good job.

I treated it like
an argument before a court.

And word came back
pretty quickly

that the Committee really
hadn't warmed up to me.

They didn't like me.

It might have
just been fatigue,

but something happened
that caused me
to become emotional,

and I got up
and left the room.

So I made a beeline
for the women's bathroom,

and a couple of the women
from the House Judiciary
Committee saw me crying.

Then we had a little
conversation.

After that, the ice melted.

For me, one of the things
I had to learn, was to engage
at a personal level

and let yourself experience
feelings that you don't
as a lawyer.

One of the hardest times
for me, and I think for Peter,

was we appeared on the website
of the Westboro Baptist Church.

And under our picture,
it said, "Vermont Fag Beasts."

And then there was a column
of how evil we were, how
we were gonna go to hell.

It's hard to be seen as evil,
but I don't absorb it,
I don't internalize it.

[Lois] I was working
as a school nurse.

I also taught
Health Education.

And two of the parents
pulled their kids out
of my classes

because they didn't want
their children taught
by a lesbian.

I think Vermont was picked
by the gay movement
as a good place

to push for a first victory.

And clearly we're in
an era of sexual chaos.

So what's at stake,
what's at stake for Vermont,

what's at stake for
the nation now,
is its children.

Is its future.

Welcome, Dr. Fagan.

What are some of the things
that you've discovered in
the research that you've done?

The intercourse between
a male and female
is potentially fruitful.

It gives life, and it can lead
to love, marriage, happiness.

And no matter
how frequently, uh...

two gay people or two lesbians
come together sexually,

they can never, ever, ever

produce a child.

And there is that
fundamental, common sense,

total worlds apart difference.
And to say that both
are the same is...

insane.

It's hard to get around

the fact that
at some level,

the whole opposition
is premised on

the notion that
gay people shouldn't
be treated as equals.

But having said that,

overwhelmingly, the folks
that I dealt with
in the opposition

tried to present their views

as civilly as they could.

Look hard
at these images.

Pretend, just pretend
for a moment,

that they're alive and they're
standing here in front of you

with the full weight
and authority
of the Vermont Legislature.

Would you tell them that they
really don't need
or deserve a mother?

That they really don't need
or deserve a father?

Because that's exactly what
we would be saying by changing
the law of marriage.

The House Judiciary Committee,

which had taken testimony
every single day for six weeks,

had finally decided
it was time for them
to take the vote.

[Kevin] It became
pretty clear that
a majority of the committee

wanted to support some type
of legal recognition for gay
and lesbian relationships.

But there was only
a small handful of us

who believed that marriage
was the right choice,

or that marriage
had any chance of passing
on the floor of the House.

The only thing I thought
about politically is,
what can you get through?

And I knew I couldn't get
marriage through
no matter what I did.

It was just too scary
for people.

It was a difficult,
uncomfortable time for
a lot of people in the state.

But I think the legislature
is looking into their hearts

and trying to do
what they think,
as individuals,

is the right thing to do.

Well, the bill that we ended up
calling Civil Unions

gave every right
and responsibility
to gay and lesbians

that heterosexual people had.

It was not
full marriage equality.

But it was
the first legal recognition.

I'm quite sure that
the legislature will look
at all sorts of models,

but if it studies
the court's opinion,

and it studies what it is
the court's trying
to accomplish,

and what the Constitution
requires,

I don't think there's gonna be
any alternative

for full equality,
short of full equality.

There's 150 members
in the House,

you need 76 votes
to pass anything.

So my partner,
Steve Kimbell, did a count

and for marriage,
we had about 23 to 27 votes.

So he had to go to Beth
and say, "We can't win this.

Your choice is to get
no bill,

or to settle
for civil unions."

And that was really
hard for her.

For both of them.
Really, really hard.

Beth and I had
to take a step away.

We actually dropped out
of the State House
for five or six days.

We had meetings
in person

and over the phone,
conference call meetings
with all of the activists

around the state, who had been
working on this for six, seven,
eight years,

and asking them,
"What do you want to do?"

Holding out for marriage
meant walking away

from that legislative session
with nothing,

and going back to
the court and saying,

"Okay, court, we want
you to finish the job."

People looked to me and Susan
for leadership on this.

And Susan and I
weren't exactly aligned.

Everything that the State
of Vermont could give

opposite-sex couples
who marry,

they gave to gay couples
in the civil unions.

So I felt good.

I don't think either
one of us took it personally
if we disagreed with the other.

Right. Never.

-In fact, I just...
-I just knew you were wrong.

There was a moment there
where Beth Robinson
had a decision to make.

Either she was going to stick
to her strong...

understanding of the law
and the Constitution

and say, "This needs
to be marriage."

Or she could make
a political decision,

a compromise,

and support moving
forward with civil unions.

And that was an extremely
difficult decision
for Beth to make.

But I think it
was brilliant
that she made it,

and it really changed
the course
of American history.

She came back, and she
said to Steve,
"Okay, let's do it.

Let's get civil unions."

Montpelier really became
quite a war zone.

Vermont became
ground zero

in the battle over gay people
and American life and law.

We saw all manner
of anti-gay opponents

flooding the state
with money, with troops,

busing in their supporters,

Don't tell me to watch
my mouth while you're
teaching these children

that it's okay to be gay.

That is the ultimate goal
of this entire movement.

To destroy our ability
to hold people accountable

for their sexual behavior.

-One, two, three, four.
-Love is what
we're fighting for.

-Five, six, seven, eight.
-Stop the violence,
stop the hate.

[man] We're gonna protect
those civil rights,

and ensure that people
can live together
in this state,

in harmony, in love,
and in peace,

as one family,
the Vermont family.

Randall Terry, the famed
anti-abortion crusader,
came to town.

He set up a storefront
a block from the State House

and let it be known
that he was here

to uphold the importance
of traditional marriage,

and uphold everything
that traditional
marriage means.

[man] Randall Terry would tell
people that homosexuality
was an abomination.

We must contain the poison.

He came across
as someone

who was intentionally
trying to instill fear
in people.

And he did that
to my vice chair,
Bill Lippert.

Bill Lippert. He was the only
openly gay member of
the legislature.

So he was at the eye
of the storm.

[Bill Lippert] I remember
walking through the halls,

and hearing,
on a number of occasions,

"Judgment day is coming,
Representative Lippert.

Judgment Day is coming."

And I'd turn around,
and there was Randall Terry.

One day, I get a tip.

A fellow calls me,
and says...

"I know Randall Terry
is in your town, talking
up traditional marriage,

but maybe it's time he take
a look into his own soul."

He tells me that Randall Terry
had left his wife
for another woman,

yet he still wore
a wedding ring.

He didn't, obviously,
want people in Vermont

to know that his own
traditional marriage

didn't work out quite as well
as he'd hoped for.

[man] There were two nights
of public hearings.

At that time there were maybe
630,000 people
who lived in Vermont.

And I tell you, a good
a percentage of them
descended on the State House.

[woman] One of the many great
things about the Vermont
legislative process

was that the legislature wanted
to hear not only from experts
and advocates,

but from all Vermonters
who had a perspective
to share.

There were several statewide
hearings in Montpelier

where people could come
to the State House
and testify.

I came up
for all of those.

State House was jammed.
Jammed.

And at some point,
I decided to leave
the chamber,

because I wanted to see
what was happening
outside.

[man] Three thousand people
showed up on the front steps

of the State House.

They are angry.

Civil unions is essentially
marriage without
the marriage word.

The people had been lied to,
they'd been cheated,

and that's the anger
you have to worry about,

'cause it doesn't
go away.

[Mary] I went outside,
it was freezing.

Then I walked amongst
some of the people,
trying to make eye contact.

And I was just overcome
with this feeling of...

these could have been
my neighbors, growing up.

And my family members,
for that matter.

I realized when you're in
a fight for your
common humanity,

you cannot discount
the common humanity
of others.

[man] I was really troubled,
experienced a lot of angst.

I hadn't yet screwed up
my courage.

But I just thought...

You know, I've gotta
make a decision.

And I said, I've gotta be
on the right side
of this issue.

And the right side
is to support it.

And from that point on,

it was like a weight
lifted from my shoulders.

[Holly] The day the House
did their final vote

on the law for civil unions,

we weren't sure
which way it was gonna go.

It was still
up in the air.

We speak, and we listen
to what people have to say,

we listen to the other side,
we listen to what
they have to say.

That's the way we conduct
business here,

and shall continue
to do so,

based on over 200 years
of precedent.

We were all very nervous.

Even Beth and Susan
were nervous.

...but I will not support
the legalization of sodomy,

the tearing down
of traditional marriage
in this country,

by the passage
of this law.

And I truly feel sorry
for the State of Vermont,

that this can happen here,
and for our nation,
because I believe

that we are really
putting ourselves
in a dangerous situation

in regard to a judgment
from the Almighty God.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The House was
on the floor for hours.
It must have been 12 hours.

And it was toward the end of
the day, it must have been
8:00 or 9:00 at night

and Bill Lippert
rose and spoke,

and it was quiet.

I think it's very important,

as we listen, as we debate,
and as we make decisions,

that you understand
what the reality is...

about gay and lesbian people...

and gay and lesbian couples.

Passing the bill
that the House Judiciary
Committee has brought forward

will not end discrimination,

it will not end prejudice,
it will not end hate,

but it will grant rights.

The rights that
I don't have right now

and most everyone else
in this chamber does.

[woman] Bill's speech
was amazing.

And because they knew Bill,
he was one of them,

I think it really hit home.

They finally started
the vote,

and Lois was keeping track,
for and against,

for and against...

and we're counting them.

Soon as we saw
we had enough votes,

it was like,
"Oh, we can relax."

Those voting yes, 79.

Those voting no, 68.

Congratulations.

Thank you.
Congratulations.

It's just an incredible day.

[Holly] It was amazing.

We could become
legally connected.

We had won that step.

Gay couples in Vermont
will soon get

the same rights
and benefits as married
heterosexual couples.

The governor is expected to
sign the Civil Unions bill
into law later this week.

With that signature,
the Green Mountain State

will go where no state
has gone before.

I think, starting today,
the healing process
now begins.

The passage of Civil Union
in Vermont

established the principle
that we could win.

That we could win something
bigger than most people had ever
dreamed we were gonna achieve,

state-level recognition
of gay families.

The magic of Vermont,
the magic of Civil Unions
in 2000,

the reason why
it was so historic,

was because,
for the first time ever,

gay and lesbian couples,
statewide, had rights
and responsibilities,

and were acknowledged
for being couples.

[Beth] We had every reason
to celebrate,

but we weren't done.

I knew we had
to keep working,

however long it took,

to get to full equality,
full inclusion.

Civil marriage
for same-sex couples.

[organ music playing]

[choir singing]

[Stan] Peter and I

had a wonderful civil union.

We actually called it
our holy and civil union,

because it took place in
the Episcopal Cathedral
in Burlington.

We declare that they're united
and joined to one another

as partners in holy
and civil union,

a solemn and joyful covenant
of love in the name of God.

Those whom God
has joined together,
let no one put asunder.

[applause]

[Nina] In 1992, Stacy and I,
we had a ceremony
that we designed ourselves.

I wore my white lace dress,
and Stacy wore her tails
and her top hat.

It was totally
significant to us,

even though it wasn't legal.

When Civil Unions passed,
we wanted to have access
to those benefits and rights,

and to be a family
in every sense of the word.

Our civil union was
a beautiful summer day
in Vermont.

Lots of friends
and relatives came.

At the same time,
there was an anti-civil union
demonstration

on the capitol steps.

And we had more people
in our ceremony
than they had

in their demonstration.

By the end of today,

we will be, believe it or not,
legally connected
to each other.

And it's nice, after all
this time, to be able to say
that Holly's my spouse.

Couples from all over
the country, and in fact,
all over the world,

came to Vermont,
little Vermont,
for civil union.

[Tom] When Vermont happened,
when Civil Unions happened,

we thought, "We want to be
as married as two men
can be in this country.

We want to be as committed
to one another

as is humanly
and legally possible."

When I met Tom, marriage
wasn't even... There was no
gay marriage movement.

I could write about it
in plays, men
getting married, but...

didn't think
it'd be a reality.

We heard about this great
inn in Vermont and said,

"Let's just treat ourselves
with a civil union."

I don't think either of us
fully knew

how perfect that moment
would be.

"I am there for you
for the rest of my life,"

is a very profound pledge
to make to another person.

And it makes me feel safer,

more protected,
happier,

calmer... I'm not alone
in the world.

As much as I love Tom,
I never had that feeling

until we stood in Vermont,
in that inn, and said
the words to each other.

The irony is that,
it wasn't until after
the law passed,

that things got
really ugly in Vermont.

Something about the climate
changed, in a bad way.

People who heretofore
had been

unwilling, or unable,
or scared to express
their homophobia,

and their hatred of gay people,
suddenly felt like
they had permission to do so.

The focal point
of LGBT equality

was going to be
decided in these elections.

If the Republicans
would have taken back
control of the House

and the Senate, and won
the governorship,
which all was possible,

then it would have sent
shivers across the spines

of any politician
across America.

Groups sprung up
all around the state,

organized around
the idea of

"If we don't do
something now,

they're taking the state
away from our kids,

and we want our state back."

[man] We finally got organized
with Take Back Vermont.

It was, you know, 24/7
pedal to the metal.

Before I knew it,
we became the focus

of the opposition
in Vermont.

[man] There were
"Take back Vermont"
signs everywhere.

Lots of them.

And the Left went ballistic.

I was in demand. I didn't
want to be in demand.

I didn't want to be
a leader of anything.

Just wanted to get
some information out.

But we had started something,
and so we were gonna
see it through.

We packaged videos
with other literature,

and we sent that material
to every legislator

in the State of Vermont,
twice.

[narrator] The battle
in this country

between those holding
to traditional morality

and those espousing
hedonism

has reached a fever pitch.

Manifested in no clearer terms

than the ideological conflict
over homosexuality.

Our view was that
the only opportunity we had
to try and stop this,

was to knock the engine,
which was Governor Dean,
off the tracks.

The major reason
that I ran for re-election
in 2000

was to validate
what we had done
with Civil Unions.

It was clearly
the nastiest time
in Vermont politics.

Certainly since
I've been here.

I was the Republican nominee,

I won my primary,
and I was running against
Howard Dean.

I had run against him
in '98 as well.

But in 2000, the atmosphere
was far more charged.

I was opposed
to gay marriage.
I still am.

I do believe homosexuality
is not the way...

nature intended people
to behave.

There was clearly
a group of people
somewhere,

somehow, at, I assume,
the national level.

Maybe they were international.
I don't know.

There is clearly people
banded together that said,

"We want to ban guns,
we want to...

legalize abortion, whatever
we want to do. We want to
promote same-sex marriage.

How're we gonna do that?
We'll form a group.

We'll find a state."

Beth and I believed that
our job, at that point,
was to try

to help re-elect legislators
who had stuck their necks out

and had supported
Civil Unions.
So we marshaled volunteers,

and raised money, and did
everything we possibly could.

We're here today
because so many
of our fellow Vermonters

had the vision

to identify one
of the key issues of our time,

and the courage
to stand up and act.

These people were there for us.
They've taken an incredible
amount of heat for us.

This is our time
to be there for them.

[cheering]

People like John Edwards
from Swanton

opened his heart
and his mind, and he listened
to the testimony

for weeks and weeks.

We've got Marion Milne,

who challenged herself
to do the right thing
for her grandkids.

[Marion] I was elected
as a Republican,

but I voted for Civil Unions,

and since then, I've never
had one minute of regret.

I loved being in the House.
I thought it was one
of the greatest...

and humbling experiences
I've ever had.

We are asked to prove
whether we are as tolerant
and democratic

as we say we are.

Democratic in the sense
that we are willing
to recognize

the full rights of gay
and lesbian Vermonters.

After the vote,
many houses that
I had been to,

that were very friendly
to me before,

I wasn't welcome in them
anymore.

One person that I knew
and respected,
called me up.

"I can't believe it,
Marion. You lied to me.

You lied to the voters.
I'll never speak to you again."

I had several people
that I cared about
say that to me.

[man] It was
a surreal experience.

You'd knock on a door,
and they'd say,

"Oh, you're the gay lover."

They'd slam the door
in your face.

One in particular
called me lower than well-done.

I lost, I can probably...
Probably by two to one
or better.

You know, and it was...
it was tough.

[man] It was brutal.
They got some polling numbers

that showed
that Ruth Dwyer
was gonna win.

And we knew that
if that happened,

that was the end
of marriage equality

in this country
for a long, long time.

So we did lose the House,
it went Republican big time,

I held the Senate
by one single vote
and it was very hard to hold,

and people don't remember
this, but Howard Dean

won re-election
by one single point
in the state.

[woman]
When I lost the election,

I really, really suffered
for a long time because
I felt I had let

some very good people down.

Now, I pretty much
raise dogs,
and horses, and cows,

and live on a farm.

I like to be
around the animals

because they're simple,

unaffected, predictable,

and they have
the right priorities.

After the election,
and we all recuperated,

many of the leaders
within Take Back Vermont

formed an organization
that was ultimately called
Vermont Renewal.

The gay and homosexual
lobby is expansive.

And so, we went
into the schools.

We were able to eliminate
a lot of that material
that was clearly propaganda.

I mean, there were six
resource libraries
that we had shut down.

But when they start
teaching that all of these...

ways of living together
are equal and the same,

and you have children
involved in it,

you know, it's...

Then where do you
draw the line,
as the others have said?

What's wrong with having
three people in this situation?

Or two people and a dog.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

You don't even understand
what freedom is

until it's challenged.

It's true.

And that's when I realized
how Hitler, or somebody
like that, could come to power.

I never thought...
I always wondered, "How
could he ever come to power?"

I know now.

-Right.
-Right.

[Susan] After the election
in November 2000,

the House became
an anti-civil unions chamber.

They started having hearings
about repealing
the Civil Unions law.

Beth and I had
to go back and testify
all over again

and it was an incredibly...

painful period.

They actively brought people
into the State House

to do "seminars"

on the "immorality"
of the gay and lesbian people.

Ultimately, Civil Unions
was repealed on the floor
of the House.

But it was blocked
by the Senate.

It was a helpful reminder
of just...

how hard-fought
the civil union victory was,

and how hard we were
gonna have to work
to move forward.

[Susan] What has been
wonderful about Karen,

all these years,
and through everything
that we've been through,

is that she's always
been supportive

of what Beth and I
were doing.

No matter how much time
it took away from
the household,

no matter how stressful
it was.

Come 2003,

my practice was taking off
at the law firm.

And I just didn't
have the time anymore

to devote to working
for Marriage Equality.

There was no energy
for it in the state.

Nobody wanted to do anything.
The gay community was tired.

The political class
was sick of hearing from us.

And I was burned out,
to be honest.

I can remember
getting home at 11:00 at night.

You were gonna pick me up
at 6:00 the next morning,

I had seven hours
to do my day's...
Of my job work.

Eat dinner, sleep--

-Visit with Kim.
-Take a shower.

Make breakfast,
and get up and do
the same thing again.

Yeah. I wouldn't trade
the years of meeting
really interesting people

and traveling around and being
engaged and getting
to know the state

in a way that I
never would have.

I wouldn't trade that
for anything.

I know. But we were
exhausted all the time.

[Susan] Frankly,
I needed to take a break.

I dropped out
of the battle.

So Beth, bless her,
kept plugging away.

[Beth] As Susan's friend,
I totally understood it.

As her partner in this effort,
I can't deny that it was hard
at first.

But Susan never went away.

She was always
a source of good advice,

and she was
always a friend.

And in the meantime,

a number of other
really key people

came on to the scene
that might not have
if Susan had stayed around.

People like Sherry Corbin,
who really...

was a pillar of
the Vermont Freedom to Marry
Task Force for a decade.

[Sherry] I remember covering
miles and miles of territory,

walking into a house
and the woman in the house
running up

and giving you a hug,

and then saying,
"Good luck with him."

[laughing]

And then dragging
her husband up

and having a real debate
about it.

So the House itself
was divided, but...

humorously divided.

Freedom to Marry
criss-crossed
all over the state,

to hold a public meeting,
or to hold a house meeting,
we would call them.

Then having
nobody show up.

That was frequently
the situation.

And we would go anywhere
anybody wanted to talk.

So, number one,
why marriage?
Why are we doing this?

Why is this important,
especially after
we went through

all that we went through
in 2000 to get Civil Unions?

We were hitting
every spot in the state.

Wasn't the kind of work
that was getting headlines,

but it was the kind
of work we knew
we had to do

to steadily rebuild.

And when the story
that our laws tells

is a story of separation
and exclusion

that affects every single one
of us, gay and straight,

single and couple,

old or young,

wanting to marry
or not wanting to marry.

It isn't just about
the committed couples

in same-sex relationships
who want to marry.

It really is about
a broader civil rights
movement

and a broader
movement for inclusion.

I have to say
that, for me, that...

That really is what
this is about.

[Beth] Some of
the hardest times

were those long years
in between

when

getting to the goal
seemed so far away
and so elusive,

and the work felt
so not rewarding,

but you knew
you had to do it.

[man] Vermont created
the atmosphere
and the foundation

to have this conversation
on a national basis.

I think Vermont's experience
taught people

how to talk about it.

Taught people
that they could
talk about it.

After Vermont, GLAD
moved forward with
a marriage case

in Massachusetts.

Good evening. It is one
of the most contentious
questions in America today.

Should gay people
have the right to marry?

Today, the Massachusetts
State Supreme Court ordered
that state to do just that.

Legalize gay marriage,

ruling that a ban
on such marriages

is unconstitutional
in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts became
the first state
in the country

to allow gay people
to get married.

They did that as a result
of a Supreme Court decision
in that state.

And that case,
that was Mary Bonauto's case.

That was her case.

She had, you know, as much
as I whined about how hard
we worked in Vermont,

she was carrying multiple
other states at the same time.

She was doing the same thing
many places.

That was huge.

Now finally, these couples,
who've been together
years, if not decades,

will finally
have the chance

to be treated equally
and fairly by their government

and have the right to join
in civil marriage.

We made the same key

and core equality and liberty
arguments that we had made
in Vermont.

And the Massachusetts Supreme
Judicial Court
broke that historic barrier,

and found that excluding
same-sex couples
from marriage

violates that state's
constitution.

For a four year period,

Republicans dominated
the legislature, so,
therefore,

marriage was off the table.

And then Democrats
took over the legislature again,

and there was a glimmer
of hope in Beth's eye
about getting it done.

We could have gone
back to court. That was one
of the options we considered.

We wanted to rebut
this notion,

that... people's elected
representatives would never
go for this,

that this was something
that was being crammed down
America's throat

by unelected judges.

It was important

to pass marriage somewhere
legislatively,

because the opposition
was saying,
"Take it to the people."

The opposition was saying
the only reason we have
marriage is because of courts.

Nobody, no state had passed

marriage equality
by legislation.

And that was our goal.

Hi, how you doing today?

My name's Tom from
Vermont Freedom to Marry.
Would you like a pin?

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

[man] Beth Robinson,
and Vermont Freedom to Marry,

they went district by district

organizing everyday Vermonters,
gay and lesbian Vermonters,

and family members,
very strategically.

They would find people
that went to high school
with some legislators.

They would find
the right religious people.

They would find
the business leaders to talk
to those people.

They would find donors
to the campaign,

and talk to these legislators.

It was just
absolutely brilliant,

and it was laser focused.

[woman] Now is the time
for action.

Every single one of you
who knows anyone,

anywhere in this state,
you need to call them.

You need to call them
and ask them to call
their representative.

Because minds can be changed
like that.

[Beth] In the fall of 2008,
we worked hard

to try to get
Senator Shumlin on board.

We knew his heart
was with us,

And it was a matter
of persuading him

that the politics had changed
and that he wasn't gonna be

taking his caucus,
taking his...

people into some fire where
they were gonna get burned.

She had this determination
about her message,

and as did a number of
other people in the room,
in fairness to Beth,

where I thought, "Wow,
if this woman and this group
can really do this,

we can actually
get this done."

[man] Peter Shumlin knew
that the House was where
the play was going to be.

And so he worked very closely
with Shap Smith,

who was newly elected
as Speaker of the House.

[Shap] I always was interested
in politics as a young kid,

but I was reignited
in my interest in politics,

quite frankly,
by the civil unions issue.

I saw people were willing
to put their
personal philosophy

on the line, even knowing
that they, perhaps,
were facing political danger.

I got a new faith in
what politics could do.

The bill was very simple.
It was a short bill,
it wasn't a complex bill.

It simply said that
the gender requirement
in marriage

will no longer apply.
That a person
can marry a person.

We passed it overwhelmingly
on the floor of the Senate.

Sent it over to the House,
who did the same thing. We sent
it to the governor's desk.

We thought for sure,
to be honest,

that the Republican Governor,
Jim Douglas, would sign
that bill.

In all my great wisdom,

throughout the fall of 2008
and into the early part
of 2009,

I had assured...

anybody who was concerned,
that Governor Douglas
would sign this bill,

or at a minimum,
let it pass into law
without his signature.

I was convinced
that Governor Douglas
would not veto this bill.

And I was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

As you know, it's been
a policy of mine

not to announce
whether or not
I will veto a bill

before it reaches
my desk,

but during these
extraordinary times,

the speculation
about my decision

has added to the anxiety
of the moment

and further diverts attention
from our most pressing issues,

and I cannot allow that
to happen.

For those reasons,

and because I believe
that by removing any
uncertainty about my position,

we can move forward
more quickly beyond
this debate,

I'm announcing
that I intend to
veto this legislation

when it reaches my desk.

Our own governor stood up,
called us a distraction,

and said that our civil rights
weren't worthy of attention

this year, and that
he would veto them.

[crowd booing]

But the task doesn't end
with the governor,

the task ends right here
in the Legislature,

with our leadership, with
our elected representatives,

and the battle
is by no means over.

An hour later,

Beth Robinson's
in our door

saying, "We need a new ad
in 24 hours."

And we looked at each other,
and said, "Okay,
we can do that."

[narrator]
We are your neighbors.

Farmers, teachers, and clerks
at the grocery store.

We are your sons and daughters,
your parents and grandparents.

We are not a distraction,
as the governor suggests.

We seek nothing more nor less
than fairness for all
Vermont's families.

Urge your representatives
to protect civil rights
for all Vermonters.

They were promoting
a view of homosexuality

that would be palatable
to the Vermont citizens,

and would pull on
the heartstrings
of Vermont citizens.

And, boy, some of their stuff
pulled on mine, you know?

Suddenly we needed
every vote we could get.

We didn't just need
a majority in the House
and the Senate,

we needed
a super majority.

We needed a two-thirds majority
in both the Senate
and the House.

Susan came back on board
and rekindled some
of those relationships

that she had
with the legislature,

which was something
we definitely needed.

[Beth] The override votes
in both chambers were scheduled
for Tuesday morning.

When I went home
on Friday,

in the House, we had the 97
that we knew of because
they were on record

and we had three people
who had committed
privately to supporting

the override, even though
they hadn't voted
for the underlying bill.

Monday, when we got
to the State House,

we didn't have
the votes anymore.

One of the key votes,

a member, had told
some people they
were voting no,

and told others
they were voting yes.

And I gotta tell you,
when we left the State House
the night before the vote

to override,
we didn't have the votes.

And we knew we were short
at least by one, possibly two.

[Beth] I pretty much
cried the whole way home.

It was the lowest time
I think in the whole
process for me.

I felt tremendously supported
by Kim and I think that was...

That was the ultimate
comfort through
all of this.

I can't imagine...

doing this or anything,
without her by my side.

Floyd Nease
was the majority leader,

when I became Speaker
of the House.

Floyd is and incredibly
compassionate,

but forceful individual.

The morning of
the override vote,

Floyd came and told me,
"I just got a call

from the nursing home
where my mom is.

And they've told me
that she is dying,

I don't know what to do."

And I said, "Look, Floyd,
your mother's dying.

There's no other option.
You should go."

And he said,
"I can't leave right now.

I'll leave as soon
as the vote's over."

We knew that we needed
every single vote.

And not only did we
need the votes, we needed
to have Floyd on the floor

working people
to switch their vote.

But before the vote
had happened,

he got a call to say
that his mom had died.

And yet, he was able
to come to the floor

and shore people up.

It was really incredible.

We had to make the decision
to take it to a vote

without having the votes
in hand.

And we determined
that's what we had to do.

[man] When I came
to the podium,

quite frankly,
I was scared to death.

So, just as a reminder,
"Yes" vote is a vote
to override the veto,

and "No" vote is a vote
to sustain the veto.

The clerk shall call
the roll.

-Adams of Hartland.
-No.

-Ainsworth of Royalton.
-No.

[man] There was sort of
a feeling of terror.

But you also have to stand
up there and look confident.

So, I was just trying
to make sure that I looked
like I knew what I was doing.

[Beth] We had one vote
that nobody could talk to
because he was so tenuous,

and we had another vote,
that we didn't know
what was going on.

And I'm not gonna
name names,

but I'll say that both
of those votes came
at the very end of the alphabet.

Which meant that
we weren't really gonna know

until we got through
the roll call.

-Lewis of Derby.
-No.

-Lippert of Hinesburg.
-Yes.

-Lorber of Burlington.
-Yes.

-McAllister of Highgate.
-No.

McCullough of Williston.

We had those little
pieces of paper and
we were keeping track

and it was
extremely stressful.

[man] I had a very hard time

composing myself
to read the vote tally.

Please listen to
the results of your vote.

Those voting "Yes", 100,

those voting "No", 49.

A hundred needed to pass.
You have voted to override
the veto.

The House will come to order.

[applause]

[Beth] We'd been at it
for 15 years.

And... a lot
of people thought

we'd never get there
in our lifetimes.

And we had. We'd done it.
We won.

[man] There were people
who took political risks today

because they knew it was
the right thing to do.

And they have
my gratitude forever.

I'm relieved.
I'm overwhelmed.

We won. Veto 49.

[man] I went back to my office,
closed the door and wept.

Vermont was the first state
to grant state-wide
legal recognition

to same-sex couples
nine years ago.

Now, Vermont continues
its pioneering ways,

becoming the first state
to make same-sex
marriage legal,

not because of a court ruling
on the constitutionality
of the issue,

but because the state
legislature moved proactively
to make it a new law.

[Cherry] There were
hundreds of people
that were involved

in this movement.
This was not a gay agenda.

This was a human agenda.

Truth and fairness and justice
and love are more powerful
than one man's veto pen.

[cheering]

I do want to recognize
the Freedom to Marry board.

They've been slogging away
in obscurity for many years
until we got to this last year,

and it's been a lot
of work.

It's not the kind of board
you join to pad your resume.

[laughing]

It's the kind of board
you join to be driven

to the bone
and then driven some more.

[laughing]

We're not done.

We're not done until
every person who
voted for this bill

in the House and the Senate
got a thousand thank-you notes.

[cheering]

And we're not done until
every person who stood up
and voted for this bill

is re-elected in
November of 2010.

[Susan] Marriage is a vital
package of legal rights
and responsibilities.

But it's also a symbol
of acceptance by the state

and by the community
at large.

When Karen and I
got married, it meant
all of those things and more.

After two dozen years together,

it was a way to finally
show the world

the commitment
that we've always had
to one another.

We are so lucky
to be alive now,

and to be experiencing
these changes, and to be
a part of making them happen.

Though we have come
such a long way
from being...

essentially entire outsiders
to the Constitution,

to being slowly but surely
brought in

to those promises
that are there
for everyone.

One of the great honors
of being governor

is that you get
to appoint judges.

So I went out and looked
for the smartest,
most capable lawyer

that I'd ever met

as my first appointment
to the Supreme Court.

There is no one more fair,
there's no one more capable,

there's no one with
a finer legal mind,

and there's no one
who is more committed
to justice,

to integrity, and to doing
the right thing
for all Vermonters,

than Beth Robinson.

I, Beth Robinson...

Do solemnly affirm that I will
faithfully execute the Office
of Associate Justice.

[Beth] Do solemnly affirm that
I will faithfully execute
the Office of Associate Justice.

[cheering]

I'd like to think
that I'm a better person

because of
the amazing people

that I've had
the opportunity
to work with.

I think about
Holly and Lois,

Nina and Stacy,
and Stan and Peter,

and Susan, and Mary,
and...

the hundreds of people
who invited me to their
living room

to talk to their neighbors.

Every one of those
people made me
a better person.

Anybody who's advocating...

for LGBTQ rights in any way,
whether it's marriage
or anything else...

and whether the advocate
is gay, or straight, or doesn't
embrace labels at all,

we need to understand
that the human piece
comes first.

People's heads
will follow...

if you get their hearts.

[solemn instrumental
music playing]