Baker v. Vermont

Summary

In July 2000, Vermont’s groundbreaking law establishing civil unions took effect, providing families of same-sex couples the same protections, benefits and responsibilities that married couples have under state law except for the powerful meaning conveyed by the word marriage. The civil unions law — the first of its kind in the nation — was passed in response to a Vermont Supreme Court ruling ordering state legislators to find a way to provide equal treatment for same-sex couples. The Vermont Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights and the People For the American Way Foundation joined Lambda Legal in a friend-of-the-court brief before the Vermont Supreme Court, written by Evan Wolfson, cooperating attorneys Elizabeth Foster and Lawson Vicario of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and local counsel Richard Cassidy.

Lambda Legal's Impact

This case marks the first time a high court in a marriage case ordered a state legislature to give same-sex couples the same rights, protections, benefits and obligations that different-sex couples get through marriage. Although the benefits that flow from the word marriage were left out, the case marked a critical landmark on the road to marriage equality.