Baker V. Vermont

Baker v. Vermont, 744 A.2d 864 (Vt. 1999), was a lawsuit decided by Vermont Supreme Court on December 20, 1999. It is one of the first judicial affirmations of the right of same-sex couples to treatment equivalent to that afforded different-sex couples. The unanimous decision held that the state's prohibitions on same-sex marriage were a violation of rights granted by the Vermont Constitution and ordered the Vermont legislature to either allow same-sex marriages or implement an alternative legal mechanism according similar rights.

In 2000, the Legislature complied by instituting civil unions for same-sex couples after an acrimonious and deeply polarizing debate. In response to the court's decision in Baker and the legislature's enactment of civil unions, opponents of the legal recognition of same-sex unions formed an opposition organization called Take Back Vermont.