No. 3. An act relating to civil marriage.
(S.115)
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be referred to and cited as “An Act to Protect Religious
Freedom and Recognize Equality in Civil Marriage.”
Sec. 2. PURPOSE
The purpose of this act is to recognize legal equality in the civil marriage
laws and to protect the religious freedom of clergy and religious societies
authorized to solemnize civil marriages.
Sec. 3. 15 V.S.A. § 1a is added to read:
§ 1a. PERSON FORBIDDEN TO MARRY A RELATIVE
No person shall marry his or her parent, grandparent, child, grandchild,
sibling, sibling’s child, or parent’s sibling.
Sec. 4. 15 V.S.A. § 4 is amended to read:
§ 4. MARRIAGE CONTRACTED WHILE ONE IN FORCE
Marriages contracted while either party has a living spouse or a living party
to a civil union is legally married or joined in civil union to a living person
other than the party to that marriage shall be void.
Sec. 5. 15 V.S.A. § 8 is amended to read:
§ 8. MARRIAGE DEFINITION
Marriage is the legally recognized union of one man and one woman two
people. When used in this chapter or in any other statute, the word “marriage”
shall mean a civil marriage. Terms relating to the marital relationship or
familial relationships shall be construed consistently with this section for all
purposes throughout the law, whether in the context of statute, administrative
or court rule, policy, common law, or any other source of civil law.
Sec. 6. 15 V.S.A. § 1202(2) is amended to read:
(2) Be of the same sex and therefore excluded from the marriage laws of
this state.
Sec. 7. 18 V.S.A. § 5131(a) is amended to read:
(a)(1) Upon application in a form prescribed by the department, a town
clerk shall issue to a person a civil marriage license in the form prescribed by
the department and shall enter thereon the names of the parties to the proposed
marriage, fill out the form as far as practicable and retain in the clerk’s office a
copy thereof.
(2) The department shall prescribe forms that allow each party to a
marriage to be designated “bride,” “groom,” or “spouse,” as he or she chooses,
and the application shall be in substantially the following form:
VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
APPLICATION FOR VERMONT LICENSE OF CIVIL MARRIAGE
FEE FOR CIVIL MARRIAGE LICENSE: $45.00, FEE FOR CERTIFIED
COPY $10.00
BRIDE/GROOM/SPOUSE (circle one)
NAME (First) (Middle) (Last)
SEX DATE OF BIRTH
(e.g., July 1, 2009)
AGE
BIRTHPLACE EDUCATION (Circle No. Yrs.
Completed)
GRADES
1-8
GRADES
9-12
COLLEGE
(1-5+)
RESIDENCE (No. and Street)
CITY OR TOWN COUNTY STATE
RACE – White, Black, Native American, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, Filipino
(Specify)
FATHER’S NAME (First, Middle, Last)
FATHER’S BIRTHPLACE (State
or Foreign Country)
MOTHER’S BIRTHPLACE (State or Foreign
Country)
MOTHER’S MAIDEN NAME (First, Middle, Maiden Surname)
NO. OF THIS
MARRIAGE (1st,
2nd, etc.)
NO. OF
CIVIL
UNIONS
IF PREVIOUSLY IN MARRIAGE
OR CIVIL UNION, LAST
RELATIONSHIP WAS
1. MARRIAGE 2. CIVIL UNION
Date last marriage or civil union ended _______________Month ______________Year
LAST RELATIONSHIP ENDED BY:
1. □ DEATH 2. □ DISSOLUTION 3. □ ANNULMENT
4. □ PREVIOUS CIVIL UNION DID NOT END. MARRYING CIVIL UNION
PARTNER
Does either party have a legal guardian __________ Yes ___________No
BRIDE/GROOM/SPOUSE (circle one)
NAME (First) (Middle) (Last)
SEX DATE OF BIRTH
(e.g., July 1, 2009)
AGE
BIRTHPLACE EDUCATION (Circle No. Yrs. Completed)
GRADES
1-8
GRADES
9-12
COLLEGE
(1-5+)
RESIDENCE (No. and Street)
CITY OR TOWN COUNTY STATE
RACE – White, Black, Native American, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, Filipino
(Specify)
FATHER’S NAME (First, Middle, Last)
FATHER’S BIRTHPLACE (State or
Foreign Country)
MOTHER’S BIRTHPLACE (State or
Foreign Country)
MOTHER’S MAIDEN NAME (First, Middle, Maiden Surname)
NO. OF THIS
MARRIAGE (1st, 2nd,
etc.)
NO. OF
CIVIL
UNIONS
IF PREVIOUSLY IN MARRIAGE OR
CIVIL UNION, LAST RELATIONSHIP
WAS
1. MARRIAGE 2. CIVIL UNION
Date last marriage or civil union ended ___________Month _____________Year
LAST RELATIONSHIP ENDED BY:
1. □ DEATH 2. □ DISSOLUTION 3. □ ANNULMENT
4. □ PREVIOUS CIVIL UNION DID NOT END. MARRYING CIVIL UNION
PARTNER
Does either party have a legal guardian __________ Yes ___________No
APPLICANTS
We hereby certify that the information provided is correct to the best of our knowledge
and belief and that we are free to marry under the laws of Vermont.
SIGNATURE_______________ SIGNATURE_________________
Date signed: ________________ Date signed: __________________
Planned marriage date________ Location (City or town)____________
Officiant Name & Address __________________________________
Your mailing address after wedding ___________________________
Do you want a certified copy of your Marriage Certificate? ($10.00)
_____Yes _____ No
Date License issued _____ Clerk issuing License _____
This worksheet may be destroyed after marriage is registered.
(3) At least one party to the proposed marriage shall sign the certifying
application to the accuracy of the facts so stated. The license shall be issued
by the clerk of the town where either the bride or groom party resides or, if
neither is a resident of the state, by any town clerk in the state.
Sec. 8. 18 V.S.A. § 5142 is amended to read:
§ 5142. RESTRICTIONS AS TO MINORS AND INCOMPETENT
PERSONS
A clerk shall not issue a marriage license when either party to the intended
marriage is:
(1) A person who has not attained his majority without the consent in
writing of one of the parents if there is one competent to act; or the guardian of
such minor;
(2) Nor with such consent when either party is under sixteen 16 years of
age unless furnished with a certificate of a probate, district or superior judge,
of the district or county in which one of the applicants resides, if either
applicant is a resident of the state, otherwise of the district or county in which
the marriage is sought to be consummated, that the public good requires such
license to be issued;
(3) Nor when either of the parties to the intended marriage is non
compos mentis;
(4) Nor to a person under guardianship without the written consent of
such guardian;
(5) Nor in any case when either party is under fourteen years of age.
Sec. 9. 18 V.S.A. § 5144 is amended to read:
§ 5144. PERSONS AUTHORIZED TO SOLEMNIZE MARRIAGE
(a) Marriages may be solemnized by a supreme court justice, a superior
court judge, a district judge, a judge of probate, an assistant judge, a justice of
the peace, an individual who has registered as an officiant with the Vermont
secretary of state pursuant to section 5144a of this title, a member of the clergy
residing in this state and ordained or licensed, or otherwise regularly
authorized thereunto by the published laws or discipline of the general
conference, convention, or other authority of his or her faith or denomination,
or by such a clergy person residing in an adjoining state or country, whose
parish, church, temple, mosque, or other religious organization lies wholly or
in part in this state, or by a member of the clergy residing in some other state
of the United States or in the Dominion of Canada, provided he or she has first
secured from the probate court of the district within which the marriage is to be
solemnized a special authorization, authorizing him or her to certify the
marriage if such probate judge determines that the circumstances make the
special authorization desirable. Marriage among the Friends or Quakers, the
Christadelphian Ecclesia, and the Baha’i Faith may be solemnized in the
manner heretofore used in such societies.
(b) This section does not require a member of the clergy authorized to
solemnize a marriage as set forth in subsection (a) of this section, nor societies
of Friends or Quakers, the Christadelphian Ecclesia, or the Baha’i Faith to
solemnize any marriage, and any refusal to do so shall not create any civil
claim or cause of action.
Sec. 10. 8 V.S.A. § 4501 is amended to read:
§ 4501. EXEMPTIONS
(a) Except as herein provided, societies shall be governed by this chapter
and shall be exempt from all other provisions of the insurance laws of this
state, not only in governmental relations with the state, but for every other
purpose. No law hereafter enacted shall apply to them, unless they be
expressly designated therein.
(b) The civil marriage laws shall not be construed to affect the ability of a
society to determine the admission of its members as provided in section 4464
of this title, or to determine the scope of beneficiaries in accordance with
section 4477 of this title, and shall not require a society that has been
established and is operating for charitable and educational purposes and which
is operated, supervised, or controlled by or in connection with a religious
organization to provide insurance benefits to any person if to do so would
violate the society’s free exercise of religion, as guaranteed by the First
Amendment to the Constitution of United States or by Chapter I, Article 3 of
the Constitution of the State of Vermont.
Sec. 11. 9 V.S.A. § 4502 is amended to read:
§ 4502. PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS
* * *
(l) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a religious organization,
association, or society, or any nonprofit institution or organization operated,
supervised, or controlled by or in conjunction with a religious organization,
association, or society, shall not be required to provide services,
accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges to an individual if
the request for such services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or
privileges is related to the solemnization of a marriage or celebration of a
marriage. Any refusal to provide services, accommodations, advantages,
facilities, goods, or privileges in accordance with this subsection shall not
create any civil claim or cause of action. This subsection shall not be
construed to limit a religious organization, association, or society, or any
nonprofit institution or organization operated, supervised, or controlled by or
in conjunction with a religious organization from selectively providing
services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges to some
individuals with respect to the solemnization or celebration of a marriage but
not to others.
Sec. 12. REPEAL
(a) The following sections in Title 15 are repealed:
(1) § 1 (man forbidden to marry relatives);
(2) § 2 (woman forbidden to marry relatives);
(3) § 5 (marriage entered into in another state);
(4) § 6 (marriage void in state of residence)
(5) § 1201(4) (definition of marriage).
(b) The following sections in Title 18 are repealed:
(1) § 5160 (issuance of civil union license; certification; return of civil
union certificate);
(2) § 5161 (issuance of license);
(3) § 5162 (proof of legal qualifications of parties to a civil union;
penalty);
(4) § 5163 (restrictions as to minors and incompetent persons);
(5) § 5164 (persons authorized to certify civil unions);
(6) § 5164a (temporary officiant for civil unions);
(7) § 5165 (civil union license required for certification; failure to
return).
Sec. 12a. STATUTORY REVISIONS
The staff of the legislative council, in its statutory revision capacity, is
authorized and directed to make such amendments to the Vermont Statutes
Annotated as are necessary to effect the purpose of this act, including, where
applicable, substituting the words “civil marriage” for the word “marriage.”
Such changes shall be made when new legislation is proposed, or there is a
republication of a volume of the Vermont Statutes Annotated.
Sec. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE
This act shall take effect September 1, 2009.
Became law by legislative override of Governor’s veto
