Adoption Yes | ||
 | ||
Same-sex sexual activity legal? Legal since 1977
(Legislative repeal) Gender identity/expression Transgender persons allowed to change gender without surgery Discrimination protections Yes, on both sexual orientation and gender identity Recognition of
relationships Same-sex marriage since 2009 | ||
The establishment of LGBT rights in the US state of Vermont is a recent occurrence, with the majority of progress having taken place in the past century. It was one of 37 US states, along with the District of Columbia, that issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples, until the landmark Supreme Court ruling of Obergefell v. Hodges that legalized equal marriage rights for same-sex couples nationwide.
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Legality of same-sex sexual activity
Criminal laws against adult, private, consensual and noncommercial sodomy were repealed at the state level in April 1977.
Recognition of same-sex relationships
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Vermont since September 1, 2009. It was the first state in which same-sex marriage became legal through the action of the legislature and governor rather than as a result of a court decision.
In 1999, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that the state must provide equal marriage benefits to same-sex couples, whether in the form of marriage or an equivalent. As a result, Vermont introduced civil unions in July 2000, the first state to provide a status identical to marriage.
Vermont has provided benefits to same-sex partners of state employees since 1994.
Adoption and parenting
Vermont law permits single LGBT individual and same-sex couples to petition to adopt.
In June 1993, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled in favor of a lesbian who sought to adopt her partner's two biological sons.
Discrimination protections
Vermont law bans discrimination based on both sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, public accommodations, education, housing, credit, insurance and union practices.
The discrimination protections based on sexual orientation were added in 1992. In 2006, the State Legislature passed a bill adding gender identity to the state's non-discrimination law, but it was vetoed by Governor Jim Douglas on May 17, 2006. It was passed again in 2007 with a large majority, and was then signed into law by the Governor on May 22, 2007. It took effect on July 1, 2007.
Hate crime laws
When Vermont enacted hate crimes legislation in 1990, one of the first states to do so, the Hate Crimes Act included sexual orientation. Most of the testimony and statistics that supported its passage related to the gay and lesbian community and one incident of anti-gay violence helped secure its passage. The state added gender identity in 1999.
Conversion therapy
On March 17, 2016, the Vermont Senate unanimously approved a bill banning the use of conversion therapy on LGBT minors. On April 26, the Vermont House of Representatives approved the bill with amendments. The Senate concurred with the amendments on April 29. Governor Peter Shumlin signed the bill on May 25. It took effect on July 1, 2016.
Gender identity and expression
Vermont permits both preoperative and post-operative transsexuals to change the sex on their birth certificates and other state-issued documents. To do so on the basis of preoperative gender reassignment, it requires a letter from a licensed practitioner of medicine or mental health professional and a letter from the applicant. As of 2013, all health insurers that underwrite policies in Vermont are required to cover transgender care, including sex reassignment surgery.