Over 25 years ago, Peter Harrigan and Stan Baker were one of the three plaintiff couples in Vermont’s Freedom to Marry lawsuit. The Vermont Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Baker v. State in 1999, which led to Vermont’s Civil Union law the following year.

Sadly, Stan Baker passed away on June 24, 2025. Harrigan reflects on the tumultuous days leading to the Civil Union law, enacted on July 1, 2000; the path toward Marriage Equality achieved in Vermont in 2009; the US Supreme Court decisions that came in 2013 and 2015; new threats to LGBTQIA rights based on the current composition of the US Supreme Court; and his husband Stan’s enduring legacy. Look back and ahead with this timely presentation.