Nine years ago Vermont became the first state to legalize civil unions, but it came after a long and bitter debate at the Statehouse. We examine how this week’s same sex marriage hearings compare to the civil union hearings. We’re joined first by VPR’s Ross Sneyd, to discuss Wednesday night’s public hearing. Then, we turn to lawmakers. George Schiavone, is a former Republican representative who voted against the civil union legislation. And, current Senator Alice Nitka, a Democrat from Ludlow who voted for the civil unions measure. Also, we hear from Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Sears. (Listen)
Click here to listen to the complete audio from the Public Hearing on March 18th
Also, we talk with author Natalie Goldberg. She’s the author of books about writing,
including the bestseller, Writing down
the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within.
Her latest book, Old Friend from
Far Away, deals specifically with writing memoirs. And, she’ll be talking
about the book this Saturday at the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester.(Listen)