erosexuals "and stipulates that, contrary to the Constitution's 'full faith and credit' clause, if one state allows gay marriage, other states need not recognize the union" (Gillespie, 1996, p. 8). Since 1996, 35 states have enacted similar laws, which define marriage as unions of heterosexual couples only. In 2000, Vermont legalized so-called civil unions between same-sex couples, which institutionalized virtually all rights and responsibilities of reciprocal beneficiaries in civil marriage for same-sex couples. Nevada and Nebraska banned recognition of civil unions, fostering a legal challenge to Nebraska by the American Civil Liberties Union. In 2001, the Vermont House of Representatives, though not the Vermont Senate, voted to ban recognition. While Hawaii, Rhode Island, California, and Washington have civil-union introduced bills to establish civil unions, California has a defense-of-marriage statute on the books.
One does not have to advocate gay marriage to see that it has upset governanc
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