Author: Julie Shumway
Vermont Governor Howard Dean has declared that, were he elected president of the United States in 2004, he would recognize same-sex marriages.
Dean spoke at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association annual meeting in Philadelphia last Saturday. He said that as president he would encourage the federal government to recognize state laws granting legal benefits to same-sex couples.
Vermont is the only state to recognize same-sex civil unions; Dean's plan would mean the federal government also recognized the rights of gay and lesbian couples who entered into a civil union.
Dean's plan would not supercede the rights of individual states to determine if they will grant same-sex couples marriage rights; it would mean that when and if states determined to do so, the federal government would recognize those unions. Were Dean's plan to be accepted by Congress, it would extend federal rights to same-sex couples, including federal tax benefits, health insurance and immigration rights.
Dean Widens Civil Union Vision
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