Michelle Gardner-Quinn

After exactly two years since the tragic death of Michelle Gardner-Quinn, justice has finally been made. Her killer has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole or release on good behaviour. The prosecutors could not ask for the death penalty, as Vermont does not have it yet.

The man accused of the murder is Brian L. Rooney, a 38 year old construction worker, and he claims to be not guilty although he was condemned on DNA evidence.

The victim, aged 21, was an environmental studies senior and she came in contact with Rooney in downtown Burlington, October 2006.

On the 13th of October her body was found in Huntington Gorge, Burlington; it presented signs of sexual abuse and violence and the cause of death was suffocation by strangling.

Rooney was convicted based on a video tape which proved he and the victim had interacted the night of her disappearance and also on the semen found inside the victim’s body, which showed they had sex.

Judge Michael Kupersmith sentenced Rooney to life in prison, although the family and friends would have wished to see him on death row; unfortunately Vermont law does not allow that.

Same-sex Married Couple

After months of legal battles, the gay and lesbian couples in the state of Connecticut have won the war – the Supreme Court of Connecticut has ruled that they do have the right to get married.

Taking Massachusetts and California as precedents, eight same-sex couples have asked for the right to say “I do” in Connecticut as well. This sentence only comes to recognize what the American constitution stated in the first place: the right of citizens to be treated equally when they apply for marriage license, not depending on their sexual orientation.

The court said it was only the right decision, as ruling against it would have meant applying different set of rules to gay people and to all the other.

But things are not as bright as they may seem; gay and lesbian couples in Connecticut may have the right to get married, but The Defense of Marriage Act (1996), does not allow the federal recognition of their union, and does not give them the same treatment when it comes to Social Security, taxes and immigration issues.

Ever since 2005, civil unions have been allowed in Connecticut, but also in Vermont, New Jersey and New Hampshire; but Connecticut has now taken a step forward and legally allow same-sex marriages.

Eight couples have sued the state for same marriage rights as all the others, and the suit was called Kerrigan and Mock v. the Connecticut Department of Public Health, after the couple which was most strongly involved in this initiative.