In a victory for democratic rights earlier this year, the state legislature in Vermont approved a bill recognizing "civil unions" by gay and lesbian couples that provides virtually all the benefits received by those who marry.

Couples can apply for a license from a town clerk and receive a certificate of union that guarantees the same rights as legal spouses for matters of child custody, workers' compensation, family leave benefits, among others.

In response to this law, right-wing forces launched a campaign with yard signs and bumper stickers proclaiming, "Take Back Vermont" and "Remember in November." The campaign focuses on voting out of office legislators who supported the bill and electing candidates who would repeal the law.

The youth marched to the rally behind a banner that stated, "We're Vermont's future, so we support civil unions." Yard signs declaring, "Vermont, keep it civil" were available for supporters to take home.

Jeanette Bacevius, a leader of Vermont for All Vermonters, which organized the rally, reported to the demonstrators, "We have weekly picket lines at the Montpelier post office and we marched in the Randolph parade."

"Hundreds of students believe in civil unions," said Molly Goldberg, a student from Montpelier who addressed the rally. She said she is often asked, "Why do you care? You and your peers can't vote." The answer is "equality," she said. "We don't have to vote or get married tomorrow to reap the benefits of equality."

Keja MacEwan, a leader of Vermont for All Vermonters, explained in an interview, "We need to be visible."

MacEwan also told how the youth march came about. "Two students came to one of our meetings and said they wanted to do something to show students support civil unions. When they heard we were planning a rally the idea of doing a march came up," she said.

The September 12 Democratic and Republican primaries in Vermont were a focal point in the debate on the "civil unions" law. In that election five Republican state legislators who supported the law were defeated, as was one Democrat who opposed it. Four Republicans and one Democrat who were targeted for defeat because they backed the law were reelected.

Ultrarightist Patrick Buchanan, the Reform Party presidential candidate, greeted the Vermont primary election returns. "By the public thrashing and political rout of five Republican legislators, who had voted to put homosexual liaisons on the same moral plane as traditional marriage," he said, "Vermont redeems her integrity and restores her honor. Vermonters have shown that a free people can successfully resist and roll back the rising tide of decadence that threatens to engulf our once-godly nation."

Supporters of the Socialist Workers presidential ticket--James Harris for president and Margaret Trowe for vice president--campaigned at the rally. They explained that the insecurity bred by the capitalist social crisis today, particularly among the middle class, is what Buchanan's demagogy and the "Take Back Vermont" campaign feed on.

The socialists circulated a statement that argued, "Today in Vermont they scapegoat and encourage resentment against gays and lesbians, blaming them for the social crisis. Tomorrow it will be immigrant workers or farmers. But the real enemy is the capitalists and their system, who drive down our wages and working conditions and who set prices for milk and other farm commodities below their cost of production, hitting small farmers the hardest."