Proud Little State #2 - Civil Unions

Proud Little State #2 - Civil Unions. Drawn by Vermont cartoonist Juniper Kim, Proud Little State #2 explores civil unions in Vermont from the perspectives of the activists, legislators and lawyers who created the nation’s first state-wide legal recognition for same sex couples.

Proud Little State #2 - Civil Unions was made possible in part by support from Vermont Humanities.

Proud Little State is a project of the UVM Center for Research on Vermont, UVM Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies, Vermont Folklife & the Vermont Queer Archives.

Proud Little State #2 - Civil Unions made possible by support from:

• A Note on Langauge

  Throughout Proud Little State issue #2 we use the terms gay marriage and same-sex marriage because these terms reflect the language that was used at the time. Gay marriage was used regularly in mainstream discourse and publications but was often avoided by LGBTQ+ rights advocates. Though not without its limitations, same-sex marriage was the more commonly preferred term in LGBTQ+ advocacy spaces, and also appeared regularly in media coverage.  The term marriage equality started being adopted by LGBTQ+ rights advocates around this same time period but did not become widespread until later in the 2000s.

• Bibliography 

  Proud Little State #2: Civil Unions - Bibliography 

  • Associated Press. (2009, August 30). No rush for same-sex weddings in Vermont. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32617949

  • Benefits, protections, and responsibilities of parties to a civil union, 15 V.S.A. § 1204 (1999). https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/15/023/01204

  • Duke, A., & Remsen, N. (1999, October 10). Vermont at Center: World awaits Vt. decision on gay marriage. Burlington Free Press.

  • Flowers, J. (2025, April 10). Pioneers helped forge path to gay marriage in Vt. 25 years ago. Addition County Independent. https://www.addisonindependent.com/2025/04/10/pioneers-helped-forge-path-to-gay-marriage-in-vt-25-years-ago/

  • Free Press Staff Report. (1999, December 21). Vermonters react with disgust, delight. Burlington Free Press.

  • gay-civil-unions.com. (n.d.). Congratulations! http://www.gay-civil-unions.com/HTML/Congratulations.htm

  • gay-civil-unions.com. (n.d.). More civil unions... http://www.gay-civil-unions.com/HTML/Congratulations_2.htm

  • Halloran, L. (2013, March 23). How Vermont’s “civil” war fueled the gay marriage movement. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2013/03/27/174651233/how-vermonts-civil-war-fueled-the-gay-marriage-movement

  • Hollingdale, L. (2002) Creating Civil Union: Opening Hearts and Minds. Common Humanity Press.

  • Jacobson, E. (2000, January 23). To wed or not to wed. Burlington Free Press.

  • Jacobson, N. (Lead Director). (2013). Part Four: Doers and Shapers. [Documentary series segment]. In Winthrop, N. (Executive Producer). Freedom & Unity: The Vermont Movie [Documentary]. 

  • Laurion, A. (2025, June 17). 25 years after Vermont legalized civil unions, Bill Lippert reflects on watershed speech. Vermont Public. https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-06-17/25-years-later-bill-lippert-reflects-vermonts-passage-civil-unions

  • Lickteig, M. A. (2025, April 23). Vermont’s Civil Union law was passed 25 years ago, sparking the nationwide march to marriage equality. Seven Days. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/vermont-marks-25-years-since-it-passed-civil-unions-law-43375161/

  • Lisberg, A., & Remsen, N. (1999, December 21). Gay couples win rights. Burlington Free Press. 

  • Lisberg, A.  (2000, January 5). Gay marriage will dominate session. Burlington Free Press. 

  • Lush, T. (1999, December 21). Court orders equal benefits, stops short of gay marriage. Burlington Free Press.

  • Marsh, J. (2019, December 9). Pride center to celebrate 20th anniversary of Civil Unions Victory. https://www.pridecentervt.org/2019/12/04/civil-unions-20/

  • Moats, D. (2005). Civil wars: The battle for gay marriage. Harcourt.

  • MyNBC5-WPTZ. (2025, April 25). LGBTQ+ trailblazers reflect on 25-year anniversary of civil unions [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5KCGbWJo54

  • Remsen, N. (2000, July 2). World watches 'huge first step.' Burlington Free Press. 

  • Remsen, N., & Duke, A. (1999, December 21). Landmark case touched many lives: Same sex marriage debate reached across Vermont. Burlington Free Press. 

  • Resmer, C. (2025, April 23). From the deputy publisher: Union made. Seven Days. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/looking-back-on-25-years-of-civil-unions-in-vermont-43374475/

  • Same-Sex Marriage, State by State. (2015, June 26). Pew Research Center. map. Retrieved June 20, 2026, from https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/06/26/same-sex-marriage-state-by-state-1/.

  • Sanders, S. (1998, December). Same-Sex Marriage: A Sellout to Heterosexist Patriarchy. Out in the Mountains 13(11), 8.

  • Vermont Freedom to Marry records, C-144. Middlebury College Special Collections & Archives.

  • Vermont Public. (2013, March 27). Vermont House Vote on Civil Unions, March 2000 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPfMb8wDgdc

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