Jim Douglas Threatens To Veto Hugely Popular Vermont Gay Marriage Bill
America is faced with great struggles right now, not the least of which are the greater battles that define democracy itself. Is the will of the people an over-riding principle? Does the Constitution decide all rules? Do we revert to what we think the Founding Fathers believed? All these are good questions that are debated every day around kitchen tables and living rooms, workplace breakrooms, social media sites, like Twitter and Facebook, and by our government itself.Â
Regardless of anyone’s personal beliefs, one really has to question the reasoning and connectedness of a Governor who, against the vast majority of his people, against widely voiced opinions of the business community, against both houses of his state’s Congress, and even against the trend in the states surrounding his own, has decided to impose his personal religious beliefs onto his citizenry. Republicans claim every day around those kitchen tables and in those living rooms, workplace breakrooms, social media sites, like Twitter and Facebook, and within their government itself that they believe in “limited government”. Some claim to believe that if it’s not expressly defined in the Constitution, government has no right to intervene. Many far-right-wing conservatives hold the second amendment up high, demanding unlimited access to guns, while ignoring the First Amendment’s demand to separate Church and State as, perhaps, an “opt-in” idea.
How can Republican Governor Jim Douglas of Vermont, Vermont – the fourteenth state of the Union, the second smallest in population, a state that has the highest percent of its population that claims no religion, a state whose people are less likely to attend weekly services and are less likely to believe in God than people in the rest of the nation, a state whose people favor gay marriage by a 52% to 39% margin, a state whose House and Senate will have passed a gay marriage bill this week, how can the Governor of those people justifiably veto a gay marriage bill? There can be only one answer, and it is the answer Governor Jim Douglas has repeatedly stated:
“I believe that marriage should remain between a man and a woman.”
And there you have it, folks. Against the will of the vast majority of his people. Against the will of the duly elected majority of his House and Senate, Jim Douglas will veto the gay marriage bill for one reason and one reason only. HE does not believe that two people of the same gender should be married. Douglas is known publicly to belong to the United Church of Christ.
The good news is that there may be sufficient will in the Vermont Congress to override the veto. The Senate certainly does. The House needs 100 of its 150 votes to override the veto. Wait and see, wait and see.
What do you think? Does an Executive have the right to deny all others and impose his personal beliefs on his people? Is “majority rule” always right? Do civil rights outweigh the will of the majority?