Patrick Leahy: “when we began this debate on Monday afternoon I referred to the important discussion that occurred in Vermont several…”

“when we began this debate on Monday afternoon I referred to the important discussion that occurred in Vermont several years ago. In that statement I referred to the extraordinary example set of Senator Robert Stafford. I will ask that the Rutland Herald editorial from November 2, 2000, entitled ``Stafford's Gift,'' be printed in the Record. This editorial memorializes the bipartisan call for respect and tolerance to which Vermonters responded. Senator Jeffords and I were honored to join Senator Stafford in rejecting vitriolic attacks during Vermont's experience with this debate. The Rutland Herald's series of civil editorials that examined these issues during Vermont's debate earned the Pulitzer Prize for the newspaper and its editorial page editor, David Moats. The fairness and equality that resulted from passage of Vermont's civil union law has not threatened the marriages of the Green Mountain State or any other State in this country. It has not led to the parade of horribles threatened by the proponents of this divisive constitutional amendment. Recently, I was contacted by a number of physicians in Vermont who voiced their strong opposition to the constitutional amendment that we are debating.…”