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Vermont is a small, out-of-the-way place, and if recent discussions about its future are any indication, its residents often wonder if their way of life is compatible with the rest of the country’s. No other state proudly trumpets the fact that a sitting president refuses to visit; none has argued so passionately for secession — a movement that surely embodies collective concern about whether the United States of America can live up to its good name. ... Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gay-rights advocates are hailing the decisive role played by Sen. James Jeffords in last week's enactment of the first-ever change in the U.S. tax code helpful to same-sex couples.

"Non-spousal beneficiaries," including same-sex partners, will now be able to transfer inherited retirement savings into their own retirement accounts without immediately having to pay taxes. The new law also allows individuals to use their retirement plans to respond to certain medical or financial emergencies affecting a designated beneficiary, including a same-sex partner.... Read more

VERMONT -- Forty-five states currently have laws or constitutional amendments limiting wedlock to one man and woman, so it might seem like hard times for the gay-marriage movement. But marriage-equality activists are focused on the long term and have reason to be optimistic. That's the message Evan Wolfson, executive director of the national organization Freedom to Marry, will deliver on June 27 at a Burlington fundraiser.... Read more

VERMONT -- When the United Church of Christ became the first mainline Christian denomination to officially endorse "full marriage equality" for all people regardless of gender, the move was more than just a spiritual affirmation of same-sex unions for the church's 1.3 million members. It was seen as a decisive statement against the growing political hostility toward gays and lesbians in America.... Read more

It isn't easy being a judge these days. Vermont Supreme Court Justice John Dooley III made that clear April 16 at the University of Vermont. A crowd of about 200 packed UVM's Memorial Lounge for his talk, which was part of a daylong symposium, "Ethics in Public Life," honoring political science professor Alan Wertheimer on the occasion of his retirement.... Read more

How often does a political action committee dissolve because it actually gets what it wants? That's what happened to Vermonters for Civil Unions, the organization incorporated in 2000 to fund political candidates who supported the state's groundbreaking civil-unions law.

Civil unions aren't so groundbreaking anymore; now that Massachusetts lets gay and lesbian couples get married for real, our second-class-citizen civil arrangement has become the moderate fall-back position in the same-sex-marriage debate.... Read more

Last week voters across the country dealt a blow to supporters of gay marriage, but the day after the election, one of the architects of Vermont's civil-unions legislation was smiling.... Read more

Animal-curious visitors to this year's Champlain Valley Fair can ogle a new species of display: The Bear Mountain Wildlife Encounter, featuring Syrian brown bears, bills itself as an "educational" exhibit. But some local animal advocates question the exhibit's educational value and say it's nothing more than a circus act -- like the ones they're trying to ban in Burlington over concerns about public health and safety and the ethical treatment of animals.... Read more

Alex Knisely and David Jones jumped at the chance to get a civil union in 2000, the year the Vermont law took effect. Knisely, a Pennsylvania physician, had been offered a job in London, and wanted to make sure his partner of 10 years could accompany him across the Atlantic. Although civil-union licenses are not usually recognized outside Vermont, Knisely and Jones lucked out. Jones was granted a visa based on his relationship with Knisely which the c.u. helped document.... Read more

Editor's Note: Peter Freyne's weekly column follows this report of Howard Dean's exit from the 2004 presidential race.

The amazing political ride came to a sad end Wednesday as Howard Dean went before the cameras one last time to say he's "no longer actively pursuing the presidency."

About 500 friends and supporters jammed the Sheraton ballroom, and Dr. Judy made an appearance, too. Funny, but after finally dipping her toes in the political stream, she looked like she was starting to enjoy it.... Read more