First Lesbian Civil Union in US Ends in Violence
Jim Kouri, CPP
December 18, 2005
Two outspoken lesbians became the first same-sex civil union in the United States are splitting up amid allegations of violent behavior. Carolyn Conrad, 35, asked a court in October to end her relationship with Kathleen Peterson, 46.
Conrad also obtained an order of protection against her former partner, claiming Peterson punched a hole in the wall during an argument and threatened to harm Conrad's friend. Conrad believes her former lover is capable of violent behavior and she needs protection to prevent further contact.
"All I want to say is that the civil union was a big source of pride for me, and now it's not," Peterson said.
The couple were together for five years when they were legally joined in Brattleboro minutes after Vermont's civil-union law took effect on July 1, 2000. Two years ago, the couple were offering relationship advice on a gay-rights website.
By the end of 2004, close to 8,000 same-sex civil unions were performed in Vermont. It's the first state to offer gay couples nearly all the rights and privileges of marriage. Of the 8,000 civil unions only 78 haved ended in legal separation. Civil unions do not end in divorce -- the process is called dissolution.
Bari Shamas, a member of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, told Associated Press that gay relationships are prone to the same difficulties as heterosexual marriages.
"There's no proof that our relationships are any better than heterosexual relationships," Shamas said.
Conrad also obtained an order of protection against her former partner, claiming Peterson punched a hole in the wall during an argument and threatened to harm Conrad's friend. Conrad believes her former lover is capable of violent behavior and she needs protection to prevent further contact.
"All I want to say is that the civil union was a big source of pride for me, and now it's not," Peterson said.
The couple were together for five years when they were legally joined in Brattleboro minutes after Vermont's civil-union law took effect on July 1, 2000. Two years ago, the couple were offering relationship advice on a gay-rights website.
By the end of 2004, close to 8,000 same-sex civil unions were performed in Vermont. It's the first state to offer gay couples nearly all the rights and privileges of marriage. Of the 8,000 civil unions only 78 haved ended in legal separation. Civil unions do not end in divorce -- the process is called dissolution.
Bari Shamas, a member of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, told Associated Press that gay relationships are prone to the same difficulties as heterosexual marriages.
"There's no proof that our relationships are any better than heterosexual relationships," Shamas said.
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