the exclusion, including furthering thernlink between procreation and child-rearing,rnpromoting child-rearing in a settingrnwith both male and female models, andrnfurthering the state’s general public policyrnagainst same-sex marriage. However,rnthe court concluded that Vermont’srngrounds for the policy were unreasonable.rnThe court littered the opinion withrncitations to such publications as “LesbiansrnChoosing Motherhood,” “LesbianrnMothers and Gay Fathers,” and “Childrenrnof the Lesbian Baby Boom.” Ofrncourse, Vermont cut its own throatrnthrough earlier legislation. For example,rnthe court cited Vermont’s law permittingrnhomosexual couples to adopt children,rnand the state’s hate-crimes law whichrnspecifically protects homosexuals. Therncourt reasoned that “[i]n light of these expressrnpolicy choices,” Vermont’s hostilit’rntowards same-sex marriage was “patcntiyrnwithout substance.”rnConsidering die court’s radical interpretationrnof “common benefits,” onernwonders how long other facets of thernstate’s marriage laws will stand. Surelyrnage and consanguinity restrictions violaternthe Common Benefits Clause as well.rnAnd this Jacobin equality need not bernlimited to marriage laws. The possibilitiesrnare endless.rnSurprisingly, the court declined torncraft a remedy for tiie constitutional violation.rnInstead, it instructed the legislaturern”to consider and enact legislationrnconsistent witii tiic constitutional mandate”rnof die ruling. The court did suggestrntwo options for its legislative lackeys: a domesticrnpartnership law gi^’ing homosexualrncouples the same benefits as heterosexualrncouples; or a new marriage law whichrnincludes homosexuals.rnIf Vermont takes the latter course,rnthere is a risk tiiat homosexuals will travelrnthere to marry, intending to return torntheir home states to demand recognitionrnof the marriages. The United States Constitutionrncommands that “Pull Faidi andrnCredit shall be given in each State to thernpublic Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedingsrnof every other State.” In determiningrndie validit}’ of a marriage, mostrnstates follow the rule of lex loci celebrationisrn—^^e place of the ceremony. But it isrngenerally recognized that, if another staternhas a significant relationship to die spousesrnat die time of die marriage and upholdingrndie marriage would violate thatrnstate’s public policy, then lex loci celehrationifsrnneed not be honored. South Carolina,rnfor example, probably could denyrnrecognition to a same-sex marriage if arnSouth Carolina couple exchanged vowsrnin Vermont and then returned to die Palmettornstate. A more difficult questionrnwould arise if native Vermonters marriedrnin Vermont and then moved to SouthrnCarolina. If South Carolina had no significantrncontacts with die couple beforernthe marriage, current case law would prohibitrnthe state from refusing recognitionrnunder the public-policy exception. Congressrnsought to correct this problem byrnpassing the Defense of Marriage Actrn(DOMA), which permits all states to denyrnfull faidi and credit to same-sex marriages,rnbut there are some questionsrnabout DOMA’s constitutionality.rnVermont could follow Hawaii’s leadrnand amend its constitution to prohibitrnsame-sex marriage. Rumor is, however,rnthat the lieutenant governor and thernspeaker of the Vermont House favor arnmarriage law which includes homosexuals.rnUnfortunately, only time and extensivernlitigation will sort out the mess thatrnVermont’s Supreme Court has craftedrnfor the Union.rn— William /. Watkins, ]r.rnD O N A L D J. T R U M P ‘ S campaign forrnthe Reform Party presidential nominationrnmay never get off die ground, andrnanyone who has ever visited Trump’srnstomping grounds in Atlantic City shouldrnnot be surprised. The Trump Taj Mahalrncasino sits alongside die Atlantic Cityrnboardwalk, a gaudy reminder of the excessesrnof its owner. Tlie “Taj,” whichrnranked first among all Atlantic Cih’ casinosrnin total gaming revenues in 1998, is arnke’ component of the empire controlledrnby “The Donald,” the nickname bestowedrnupon the entrepreneur b’ his firstrncx-wife, Ivaiia.rnOn the boardwalk near tiie Taj, shopsrnfeature “Special $1 Readings by a Psychic,”rn”Tarot Cardreading for $10,” “99rnCent Fveryriiing,” and “Cash For Gold.”rn(Another pawnshop off the boardwalk advertisesrninterest in purchasing engagementrnrings.) The now-empty Trump’srnWorld Fair Hotel Casino stands nearby.rnBut hope springs eternal. “On fiiis site,”rna billboard gushes, “will be built one ofrnthe largest and most spectacular Casino/rnHotels anywhere in the world. Donaldrn}. Trump.” On such a foundation arernTrump’s political aspirations built.rnInside the Taj, witii its 42-story hotelrntower and adjacent casino, the Oasis SlotrnLounge offers nickel and quarter slots;rnthe Sultan’s Diamonds area provides onernand five dollar slots; and Sultan’s Fmeraldsrnoffers middle-class high rollers arncrack at $25 and $100 slots. On a recentrnSaturday afternoon, I observed a multiculturalrnmelange in the Oasis; a largerngroup of senior citizens, with a smatteringrnof Gen X-ers, among the Diamonds;rnand a sea of empty chairs next to thernEmeralds. There is also Sultan’s Palacern(a lounge with the casino’s best view),rnSultan’s Feast (a restaurant), and engravedrnobjets dart from India. The idearnis to suggest to visitors that they too can bernkings and queens. Caesar’s Palace makesrnthis point more blundy. “Enter A Citizen,”rnan entrance sign proclaims, “LeavernAn Emperor.” Give Trump credit; Evenrnhe is not that brazen.rnThe Taj has thick magenta carpetingrnand polished brass escalators that leavernvisitors with die impression that they arernsurrounded by gold. The only objectsrnmore ubiquitous in Atlantic City are thernATM machines that line the casino entrances,rnrhe get-rieh-quick mentalitv’ ofrntoday’s debt-ridden, leveraged globalrneconomy is on display, right next to thatrneconomy’s flotsam and jetsam, who begrnpassersby for handouts on the boardwalk.rnTrump borrowed heavily to becomernthe dominant casino owner in AtlanticrnCity; his firm has about 25 percent of therncity’s casino “scjuare footage, slot machines,rntable games and hotel room inventory,”rnaccording to the 1999 annualrnreport of Trump Hotel/Casino Resortrn(which trades on die New York Stock Exchangernunder the symbol DJ T, Trump’srninitials). The Trump name itself is describedrnas “an asset” of the firm in publicrnfilings with the Securities and ExchangernCommission. But DJ’L’s long-term debtto-rnequit)’ ratio is more tiiaii seven to one;rnmore than 75 percent of the cash generatedrnfrom operations in a recent year wasrnspent on interest payments to finance itsrnoutstanding debt. DJT’s stock has lostrnnearly three quarters of its value since thernend of 1996. One plausible explanafionrnis that DJT used debt to purchase thernTrump Marina propert}’ from The Donaldrnat an inflated price.rnThe Reform Party prides itself on itsrnsupport for balanced federal budgets andrnfiscal restraint, and Ross Perot maderndiose issues the cornerstone of his 1992rnand 1996 presidential campaigns. Futurernhistorians will likely credit the part)’rnfor shaping public opinion to die pointrnwhere die Democrats and Republicansrn6/CHRONlCLESrnrnrn