Vermont women become first legally united same-sex couple in U.S.

Carolyn Conrad, 29, right, and Kathleen Peterson, 41, kiss following their civil union ceremony in Brattleboro, Vermont

Civil union law went into effect Saturday in New England state

July 1, 2000
Web posted at: 3:05 p.m. EDT (1905 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

BRATTLEBORO, Vermont -- Shortly after the clock struck midnight Saturday, two Vermont women became the first same-sex couple in the nation to be legally united.

Vermont's landmark law recognizing gay civil unions allowed partners Carolyn Conrad and Kathleen Peterson to gain the rights, benefits and responsibilities of marriage in a ceremony outside the Brattleboro town hall.

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They were the first, but later on Saturday -- the first day the Vermont law went into effect -- gay and lesbian couples stood before justices of the peace and clergy all around Vermont to be legally joined as spouses.

"We've already been married spiritually and morally, and we wanted to be legal the minute we could," said Conrad, 29, who recited vows along with partner Peterson, 41, outside the town hall moments after filling out paperwork for a civil union license.

The law created a classification that grants a laundry list of benefits to gay partners. Couples who enter into a civil union can file joint income tax returns and have the right to make medical decisions for each other, among other protections and responsibilities.

Vermont still doesn't recognize same-sex marriages per se -- in fact, the relevant statute emphatically reaffirms that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. But the state legislature formulated the civil union as a legal classification entitling gay couples to all the rights and responsibilities of married couples.

Vermont Gov. Howard Dean signed the measure into law in April. It went into effect Saturday.

Early Saturday morning, a crowd of 75 onlookers -- many of them gays and lesbians -- gathered to watch Conrad and Peterson "wed" -- even though the couple had only invited eight people to join them around a local park's candlelit fountain.

"We didn't plan on being first," said Conrad, associate dean of students at Marlboro College, who wore a taupe spaghetti- strap, floor-length dress and carried a bouquet of mixed wildflowers. "But we wanted to do it as soon as possible, and (the town clerk) was kind enough to agree."

A dozen protesters held signs that read "Only God Gives Peace and Happiness" and conducted what appeared to be a prayer circle.

Conrad and Peterson, a chairlift electrician at Mount Snow ski resort, have been involved for five years and had a commitment ceremony a few years ago. That didn't carry weight in the eyes of the law, though.

"That was the moral and spiritual ceremony," Peterson said. "This is the legal one."

Another lesbian couple who helped pioneer the civil union law also planned to make their partnership legal Saturday in a private religious ceremony.

Lois Farnham, 55, a nurse, and Holly Puterbaugh, 54, a mathematics lecturer, were among three same-sex couples who filed a 1997 suit that led to the law's passage.

"It's been a long-enough engagement," quipped Farnham, referring to her 28-year partnership with Puterbaugh. "It's nice to say Holly is now my spouse."

Brattleboro town clerk Annette Cappy said she had received requests from seven couples -- half from out-of-state -- for civil union licenses Saturday.

The Vermont Supreme Court ruled in December that gay and lesbian couples were being unconstitutionally denied the more than 300 state benefits, protections and responsibilities afforded to married men and women in that state. It's still unclear whether out-of-state couples who enter into a civil union in Vermont will be granted similar rights in their home states.

Federal benefits such as Social Security and some tax measures remain off limits.

Opponents tried to to halt implementation of Vermont's civil union law. A group headed by some state legislators asked a judge to block the law from going into effect, but Superior Court Judge Stephen Martin said they hadn't proven any irreparable harm was about to be caused.

Gay rights advocates praised the legislation despite the fact that it stops short of actually labeling homosexual unions as marriages.

"Through this law, Vermont becomes a pioneer for families and equality," said Evan Wolfson, a lawyer for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.

"Americans will see that when lesbians and gay men are given access to most of the rights and obligations of civil marriage, the sky will not fall and the institution of marriage will be even stronger."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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