Law allowing gay marriage takes effect in Vermont

(NECN: Anya Huneke, Essex, VT) – Same sex couples in Vermont waited until the stroke of midnight, then exchanged vows. Vermont, the first state with civil unions, is now the fourth state where gay couples can marry. Long before the sun rose today, Bill Slimback and Bob Sullivan began their day the way they’d wanted to for 17 years — as a married couple. September 1st it was possible, for the first time in Vermont, as the state’s same sex marriage law went into effect. Slimback and Sullivan tied the knot as soon as they legally could, at midnight, at the Moose Meadow Lodge in Duxbury. However, there were protests today, as well. Members of the well-known Westboro Baptist Church, a group from Kansas, gathered in Montpelier to deliver their message. Nine years ago, Vermont became the first state to pass civil unions. This past April, it became the fourth to legalize same-sex marriage — with the legislature overriding a veto by Governor Jim Douglas. Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream marked this day by releasing a new take on an old flavor, Chubby Hubby. It is now called Hubby Hubby in support of marriage equality.