MONTPELIER, Vt., April 4 (UPI) -- Vermont Gov. James Douglas says he will veto a bill to allow same-sex marriage passed overwhelmingly by state lawmakers.
The bill approved by the Vermont House 94-52 Friday fell several votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto pledged by Douglas, a fourth-term Republican, The Bennington (Vt.) Banner reported Saturday.
Rep. Cynthia Browning, an Arlington Democrat who voted against the bill, said members of her party have warned she will be targeted for defeat in 2010 if she doesn't throw her support behind the bill now. Browning said she is unlikely to change her mind.
Rep. Joseph L. Krawczyk Jr., a Bennington Republican who voted against the bill, said its supporters likely will find the necessary votes to override a veto.
"I have never seen brow-beating in my seven years the way that they've got it going right now," he said of pressure from Democrats.
The state Senate in March passed the bill 26-4, more than enough to override a veto.
