Same-sex marriages begin in Vermont [since Martinus hasn't posted it yet]

[ulmont]

State became mecca for gay couples after instituting civil unions in 2000

DUXBURY, Vt. - After 17 years together, Bill Slimback and Bob Sullivan couldn't wait another minute to get married. So they didn't.

With Vermont's new law allowing same-sex marriage only a minute old, they tied the knot in a midnight ceremony at a rustic lodge, becoming one of the first couples to legally wed under a law that took effect at midnight Monday.

Dressed in suits, saying their vows under a large wall-mounted moose head, the two Whitehall, N.Y., men promised their love, exchanged rings and held hands during a modest 17-minute ceremony. Moose Meadow Lodge co-owner Greg Trulson, who's also a Justice of the Peace, presided.

"It feels wonderful," said Slimback, 38, an out-of-work Teamster who is taking Sullivan's last name as his own. "It's a day I've been long waiting for, and a day I truly honestly thought would never come."


Slimback said he and Sullivan, 41, have long wanted to cement their relationship with a wedding, but since they couldn't legally marry in New York they chose to wed even before Vermont's gay marriage era officially dawned.

One of five states
Vermont is one of five states that now allow same-sex couples to marry. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa also allow same-sex marriages, while New Hampshire's law takes effect Jan. 1, 2010.

Vermont, which invented civil unions in 2000 after a same-sex couple challenged the inequality of state marriage statutes, was a mecca for gay couples who to that point had no way to officially recognize their relationships.

Since then, other states have allowed gay marriage, as did Vermont, which in April became the first state to legalize gay marriage through a legislative decree and not a court case.

Some couples — including many who obtained civil unions in Vermont — plan to return to the state to get married. But most are in no rush. City and town officials say only a handful of licenses had been issued to same-sex couples in anticipation of Tuesday's start.

"We've waited a long time to do this — basically, our whole lives," Slimback said Monday. "We've been waiting for a chance to actually solidify it," he said. He and Sullivan said they never wanted to obtain a civil union because they believe that's a kind of second-class recognition.

[Eddie Teach]

Slimback, 38, an out-of-work Teamster who is taking Sullivan's last name as his own.

Slimback is way cooler than Sullivan.

[ulmont]

Slimback, 38, an out-of-work Teamster who is taking Sullivan's last name as his own.

Slimback is way cooler than Sullivan.

I dunno, in context it sounds like he has a small dick.

[Eddie Teach]

I dunno, in context it sounds like he has a small dick.

Are you talking about the dude or the name?

[ulmont]

I dunno, in context it sounds like he has a small dick.

Are you talking about the dude or the name?

The name implies the dude has a small dick.

[Caliga]

I don't see this as major news.  It was major news when Vermont legalized gay marriage.  The date on which they begin shouldn't generate another round of significant coverage unless someone flips out and shoots up a gay wedding ceremony or some such crap.

[Eddie Teach]

The name implies the dude has a small dick.

Well, if that's true I can see changing it. It sounds cool though.

[Eddie Teach]

I don't see this as major news.  It was major news when Vermont legalized gay marriage.  The date on which they begin shouldn't generate another round of significant coverage unless someone flips out and shoots up a gay wedding ceremony or some such crap.

Ulmont warned us this would happen if nobody played a game with him. 

[ulmont]

I don't see this as major news.  It was major news when Vermont legalized gay marriage.  The date on which they begin shouldn't generate another round of significant coverage unless someone flips out and shoots up a gay wedding ceremony or some such crap.

Ulmont warned us this would happen if nobody played a game with him. 

[DGuller]

Since when does "back" mean "penis"?  Are you people familiar with the human male anatomy?

[The Brain]

Since when does "back" mean "penis"?  Are you people familiar with the human male anatomy?

Here we go again.

[ulmont]

Since when does "back" mean "penis"?  Are you people familiar with the human male anatomy?

Since "bareback" was defined as "without a condom on the penis."

[garbon]

I've never heard anyone call a penis "back."

[DGuller]

Since when does "back" mean "penis"?  Are you people familiar with the human male anatomy?

Since "bareback" was defined as "without a condom on the penis."

It still sounds stupid to deconstruct this to mean that back is penis.  In all the cases I'm aware of, back in the back, while penis is in the front (your own, at least).

[Jacob]

It still sounds stupid to deconstruct this to mean that back is penis.  In all the cases I'm aware of, back in the back, while penis is in the front (your own, at least).

"Slimback" sounding like it implies a small penis does not mean "back = penis".

"Bareback" = riding someone bare, i.e. naked, i.e. without a condom.  "Riding" being a euphemism for fucking.

"Slimback" could then well be taken to mean riding someone in some way or fashion that is "slim".  Perhaps "slim" is an adjective that describes the tool used for riding, just as "bare" is the adjective that describes it in the "bareback" construction.