Vermont grants gay couples rights December 20, 1999 Web posted at: 12:48 p.m. EST (1748 GMT) MONTPELIER, Vermont (AP) -- Gay couples must be granted the same benefits and protections given married couples, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled Monday. The court said the Legislature will determine whether such benefits will come through formal marriage or a system of domestic partnerships. "We hold that the state is constitutionally required to extend to same-sex couples the common benefits and protections that flow from marriage under Vermont law," the justices said. "Whatever system is chosen, however, must conform with the constitutional imperative to afford all Vermonters the common benefit, protection, and security of the law," the court said. It is "a question that the court well knows arouses deeply felt religious, moral, and political beliefs," the justices said in their decision. Monday's decision, written by Chief Justice Jeffrey Amestoy, acknowledges the controversy swirling around the issue of same-sex marriages. The issue divided the court. While all five justices agreed that gay couples should receive the same benefits as granted married couples, three of the justices joined a concurring opinion written by Justice John Dooley that challenged the reasoning behind Amestoy's decision. Justice Denise Johnson wrote a separate opinion saying the court had not gone far enough. She said the court recognizes that gays are entitled to certain rights and "yet declines to give them any relief other than an exhortation to the Legislature to deal with the problem." Johnson said she would require town clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Earlier this month, Hawaii's Supreme Court slammed the door on gay marriages in that state, once considered most likely to legalize same-sex unions. Hawaii's high court said the issue was resolved by a 1998 amendment to the state constitution against gay marriages. Vermont was the only other state whose top court was considering the issue, and Monday's ruling had been anxiously awaited by both sides in the highly charged debate over same sex marriages. Can't appeal to U.S. Supreme Court Monday's ruling cannot be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court since the Vermont court based its decision on the state Constitution. The Vermont Supreme Court is the state's only appeals court. The decision places the issue before the Legislature, which will convene next month for its 2000 session. Gov. Howard Dean has declined to state a position on same sex marriages, saying that he was awaiting the decision of the court. But the lieutenant governor, Douglas Racine, and the speaker of the Vermont House, Michael Obuchowski, have said they favor same sex marriages. Advocates of same sex marriage had high hopes for the Vermont case because the state is considered a leader in laws protecting gay rights. Vermont has passed laws prohibiting discrimination against gays in employment, housing, and public accommodations and a law that punishes hate crimes against homosexuals.

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