Vt. Gay Couples Marry, Eat 'Hubby Hubby' Ice Cream
Same-sex couples in Vermont began to marry on Tuesday after a law legalizing gay and lesbian marriage took effect.
As couples tied the knot at the stroke of midnight, the South Burlington, Vt.-based Ben & Jerry's ice cream company renamed their popular "Chubby Hubby" flavor to "Hubby Hubby."
"The legalization of marriage for gay and lesbian couples in Vermont is certainly a step in the right direction, and something worth celebrating with peace, love – and plenty of ice cream," said Ben & Jerry's CEO Walt Freese, according to the Boston Herald.
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Free "Hubby Hubby" was handed out Tuesday. The rebranded flavor will be available across Vermont throughout September.
For opponents of same-sex marriage, the temporary name change was like salt in the wound.
"It's a bad idea, especially because I think they're just doing it to rub it in that Vermont has legalized gay marriage," Brian Camenker of MassResistance.org told the Boston Herald.
Marriage for gay and lesbian couples was legalized in April when the state legislature overturned Gov. Jim Douglas' veto. Douglas felt Vermont's civil union law was sufficient in extending the same rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples.
The only thing that might be gained from the bill is additional social acceptance, Steve Cable of Vermont Renewal, a group that opposes gay marriage, said earlier.
Vermont Renewal believes that by allowing same-sex marriage, the state legally declares that: men and women are completely interchangeable; Vermont no longer seeks to ensure that every child has a mother and a father through marriage; and those who believe that this is unwise are bigots.
The Senate and House voted to make Vermont the fourth state to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. It was the first time same-sex marriage was legalized with a legislature's vote.
