March 7 was the annual Town Meeting Day in Vermont, and some 35 - 50 of the state's 245 municipalities used the occasion to take non-binding votes relating to legal recognition of same-gender couples. In all results reported through noon March 8, a majority of residents opposed legal marriage for gay and lesbian couples, although in some cases the margin was slim (e.g., Montpelier, the state capital, rejected legal marriage 1,501 - 1,300). A majority favored legal domestic partnerships for same-gender couples in fewer than ten towns, including Brattleboro, Dorset, Lincoln, Montpelier, and Stamford. The votes were primarily intended to offer guidance to legislators, who as part of the Vermont Supreme Court's December 20 ruling in the "Baker" case must offer the benefits of marriage to same-gender couples, either through extending the marriage law or by creating a parallel relationship.

The House Judiciary Committee has drafted a bill H-847 taking the second course, creating "civil unions" for same-gender couples, affirming that legal marriage is for heterosexual couples only, and also creating more limited "reciprocal beneficiary" relationships for blood relatives who live together. That bill has been approved by both the House Judiciary Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee and will be debated on the House floor next week. It's expected to be taken up on the Senate floor the week of March 20.

Town meetings are rather intimate community occasions used to discuss the affairs of the community, including adopting an annual budget; matters of state policy are rarely if ever raised. Many of the towns have only a few hundred residents, and typically attendance runs about 15 - 20%, so the votes hardly constitute a representative sampling of the state, but they do offer a range of perspectives from rural hamlets to urban centers.

Associated Press reporter Mike Eckel sat in on the meeting in Stockbridge with about 80 of its 618 residents, who readily determined that while they were glad to have the chance to vote on the marriage question, they preferred to avoid hurt feelings by filling out secret ballots without discussion. Legal marriage for same-gender couples was opposed 51 - 15. Legal domestic partnerships for same-gender couples were opposed 39 - 24.

Vermont Press Bureau reporter Jack Hoffman and "New York Times" reporter Carey Goldberg joined the meeting in Athens (population 313), where the Town Clerk declared she would leave her post before signing a certificate for a gay or lesbian couple. However, state Representative David Deen (D-Westminster) declared it was also a matter of conscience for him to support the "civil union" (domestic partnership) bill, even if it meant losing his position at the next election (which some residents promised). Athens rejected marriage by 35 - 17 and domestic partnership by 39 - 13, but approved by acclamation the idea of holding a referendum on the issue.

In Williamstown, residents voted 105 - 56 to ask the legislature to amend the state constitution to specifically define marriage as between one man and one woman. Amending the Vermont constitution is a more difficult process than in some other states, requiring votes in two separate legislative sessions as well as a referendum. Although a number of legislators are working on such a move, the Freedom to Marry Coalition cites a poll finding that less than 30% of Vermont residents favor amending the constitution.

In Rutland, residents voted 3,500 - 800 against legal marriage for gays and lesbians -- a far more lopsided result than the landslide against marriage in California. Rutland residents also rejected domestic partnership by a landslide, 3,000 - 1,200.