http://rutlandherald.com/vtruling/healing.htmlAt about 1:30 this afternoon, with my staff, I signed the civil unions bill. I want to tell you why I signed it. The Supreme Court, Dec. 22, found the civil rights of some Vermonters were being denied. There were opportunities for those of us who were able to get married under the law that were not available to those people who were unable to get married. The Supreme Court laid out a series of possible choices which the state of Vermont could make to remedy this situation. After an enormous amount of work on the part of the Legislature, tremendous and equally soul-searching on the part of each member of first the House and then the Senate. After the most prolonged period of public input that I have ever seen in 22 years as a Vermont citizen, and I would venture to say, possibly the most prolonged and intense period of public debate in the history of the state, the Legislature crafted a bill, which I believe does meet the Supreme Court's test.
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Certainly this is the most intense public discourse I think that we've seen in this state. And I think, starting today, and the reason I chose to sign this bill in private, is because the healing process now begins. I choose to sign this bill because I fundamentally believe it's the right thing to do, and I also fundamentally believe that in the long run it's the right thing for the state of Vermont and the United States of America.
I believe that because until every human being is treated with dignity, because they are a human being, and not because they belong in some category, then every American and every Vermonter is poorer because of that. This bill enriches not just the very small percentage of gay and lesbian Vermonters who take advantage of this partnership and get the rights that the court has determined that they are due. I believe this bill enriches all of us, as we look with new eyes at a group of people who have been outcasts for many, many generations.
I want to take just a moment to expand on why I chose again to do this privately. This bill is like no other bill I have seen, and I suspect that it's like no other bill that you have seen in many, many years of covering the State House. I suspect it's like no other bill that most Vermonters have ever seen. I've said repeatedly throughout this discussion that this is a bill that is not about politics. This is a bill that is about the deepest most personal feelings that human beings have. I personally have friends, supporters, that are furious with me over the fact that I have supported this bill. And I know that I have disappointed them and that's a very painful feeling.
I, like many of the people in this building, have not had a great deal of sleep for the past five months. In politics, bill signings are triumphant. They represent the overcoming of one side over the other, they're a cause for celebration. There is much to celebrate about this bill. Those celebrations, as the subject matter of this bill, will be private. They will be celebrated by couples and their families, by people making commitments to each other.
And I think we also have to respect and take note, not of the extreme rhetoric, but of the many, many decent people who feel strongly that this bill is not the right thing to do. They are Vermonters. We work for them in this building. I work for them. The state is pretty evenly divided. I remain the governor of all Vermonters, despite the fact that I have signed a bill that was supported by only half of all Vermonters. I want to acknowledge those feelings. I want to say I think the legislature did listen. I know I listened. In fact, after listening to all the people speak, I came to a different conclusion than many of those who urged me not to sign the bill.
But I think it is important that we reach out today to all Vermonters and realize that all Vermonters' input in this debate was thoughtful, valuable and helpful. There is no shame in having opposed this bill for most of the people who opposed it. We will now use the time to reconcile each other's viewpoints. But we will go forth forever more realizing that equality is not simply a matter of a concept that's written in history books; equality of opportunity, equality of treatment, equal access to the law, equal respect for the law, has been this year a living process in this state.
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