August 18, 2011
Vermont Gov. Presides Over Lesbians' Marriage
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Making good on a campaign promise, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin married a lesbian couple in a small ceremony in his office.
The first-term Democrat presided over the marriage Wednesday of 55-year-old Michele "Mitch" Beck and 56-year-old Ann Beck, of Royalton. Shumlin led the push to legalize same-sex weddings in Vermont as a state lawmaker in 2009.
Shumlin met the couple at a campaign event when he was running for governor last summer and told them he'd be happy to perform their wedding ceremony if he were elected.
He paid $100 to the Secretary of State's office to be certified as a "temporary officiant," donned a crisp navy suit and did the honors.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
