Same-sex marriage advances in Vermont

MONTPELIER, Vt., April 2 (UPI) -- Vermont lawmakers voted Thursday to allow same-sex couples to marry but it appeared doubtful the House would override a promised veto, analysts said.

The House voted 95-52 in favor of the legislation but it would take 100 votes to override a veto, the Burlington (Vt.) Free Press reported. The bill faces a third and final House vote Friday.

During a four-hour debate on the measure, Democratic state Rep. Bill Lippert, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, urged colleagues to vote for equality for gays and lesbians -- including him and his male partner, the newspaper said.

"That's who we're talking about here today," he said. "These couples are living everyday lives of ordinary and extraordinary significance."

Lippert said Vermont's civil unions law fails to provide full equality.

Republican state Rep. Thomas Koch argued against the bill.

"Marriage in my understanding has for the ages been one man and one woman," he said. "Now we take it upon ourselves to change that definition."

The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted in March to legalize same-sex marriage, but Gov. John Lynch appeared likely to veto the measure if it passes the state Senate.

Connecticut and Massachusetts are the only states where same-sex couples can marry. In both states, the decision was made by the state's highest court.

In California, the state Supreme Court is considering the fate of Proposition 8, a voter approved referendum that reversed the court's ruling that laws banning same-sex marriage violated the state constitution.

Maine, Rhode Island and New York are expected to consider legislation on same-sex marriage in the next few months.