Families continued from page eleven tune to be among 300 other intentional queer families. Talking with a father about my daughter’s early signs of being a fashion designer, we laughed at how incongruous her ability to coordinate clothes is with the fact that neither of her moms is fashion-conscious. He, too, shared the irony that his son is very athletic and he has little. interest in sports. However, we shared great pride in our children, and I know that our children’s inter- ests will be supported not because weshare their abili- ties, but because we honor their choices. For us, the Baker decision is logical, and equality is a no- brainer. However, we under- stand that to those people clinging to the heterosexist paradigm, it is frightening to see those roles fluctuating. I also suspect that many of them see upholding the old paradigm Hate crimes continued from page nine system has a tradition of homophobia. Nationally, reports of anti-LGBT violence committed by police officers grew by 866 percent in one year (between 1997 and 1998). In the San Francisco Bay area, fully half of reported incidents of violence against transgen- dered people were committed by law enforcement officers (1998). Class analysis is also miss- ing, but it is a key factor in both hate crimes and hate crimes laws. Aaron and Russell attacked two Hispanic youths after they left Matthew dying at the cattle fence. The entire night of crime had clas- sism permeating and feeding the racism and homophobia. Class is a perennial problem in the national LGBT groups that are leading this campaign. Assimilation is a class issue, as proud expression is squelched by expedience of appearing “just like everyone else,” whatever that means. Skepticism about hate crimes law is politically incon- - venient. Many of the voices against these laws have a vest- ed interest in homophobic hate. Fear of queer is the cash cow of the religious Reich. Fundamentalist pundits sound off on legal concerns, related to equality and freedom of speech. These are well explained by the ACLU, which supports the intention and most of the provisions of the HCPA. Holier-than-thou homophobes complain that such laws are part of the demon “homosexual agenda”. They are particularly angry that some statutes mandate teaching tolerance. In theend, as in the begin- ning, that is the key: education. By our actions, by our lives, by our language, we must be teaching tolerance, and cele- bration, of all members of the community. Hate crimes legis- lation, as currently perceived, is too much, too little, too late. Jeanne Hand-Boniakowski is a nurse, singer/poet, skeptic, activist, parent, and co-creator with her sweetheart, Jozef of www. metaphoria. org. She lives in Wells. V THE T.V. SHOW BY. FOR AND ABOUT VERMONTS L/G/B/T COMMUNITY ANDOUR SUPPORTERS! Sit back and enjoy our September program filled with news, resources and an informative interview by co-anchors Sharon Randall and Michael James FOCUS ON SEGMENT: Interview to be announced Adelphia (CH. 13) (Lud|ow, Plymouth, Woodstock) Fri 9pm— Adelphia (CH. 15) (Greater Burlington area) Fri 9pm Adelphia (CH. 15) (Montpelier, Waterbury, Randolph) 2nd & 4th Fri 7:30pm Lake Champlain (CH. 2) Call for times and dates 802-862-5724 Helicon (CH. 7) (Barre) 2nd & 4th Mon 8:30pm BCTV (CH. 8) (Brattleboro) call 257-0888 for air days/time MCTV (Middlebury, E. Middlebury, Weybridge) 388-3062 for air- times MMCTV (C H. 3)(Richmond, Jericho, Underhill) call 434-2550 for air days/time WENO (CH.15) (Enosburg, Berkshire, Richford) 1st & 3rd Sun at 8pm CA-TV (Bennington, Pownal, Shaftsbury, Woodford, Hoosick Falls) I as a way to honor the teachers and relatives they love and cherish; to accept a contrary mode is to be disrespectful to those from whom they have learned. The Baker decision and the civil union law forces these people to either question gender roles, or to defend a belief system that supports the status quo. Suffice it to say, for most people, it is easier to defend what exists than to accept change. It is naive to think that the passage of marriage law, or N\e\5el—S l7YlE. Corn 309‘ Nmmel-S tyle, Corn .639‘ N‘ .009‘ \’\e'\5Bl‘S CW8. corn .009‘ x~1\e‘5 .009‘ ‘\Ae'\5e\'S EWE. 00,77 .009‘ N.\e'\5El'S FWB. car" .609‘ was .009‘ e-‘gel-S tyle, Com N‘ .009‘ E'\5e\—S1'-Yle. col,” el-51'-Yle.¢O,h el-Style, Com .1;-0,77 we-,«_=,el—5 I’-Yle. com N\e',5el—5tVle. earn Méis el-Style we-,5el—5 i‘-Yle. Corn Ma'\5el—5tl/Ie, cam we-\5el—5 liyle. earn .GoT“ A4eise,_Stv‘e_cD ‘. .009‘ M5'iseI.scyle.c°9‘ Msisel-Style .0 ‘ M5"'Sel—si-,yle .0“ . ,.September 2000 | Out in the-Mou'ntains—| 17 even the compromise civil union law, will change people’s minds overnight. Look at how long it is taking women to reach equality in the work- place. But we are making progress. So ask yourselves: is it the gender-roles dilemma at the bottom of this schism between those who support freedom to marry and those who oppose it? In asking for the right to many, are we challenging soci- ety’s heterosexual privilege? Are emotions are being stirred Meise,_Sw‘e.c,otT‘ /l4eise,_sw|e‘c,ot"‘ /WEISELSW‘ e _ cot“ Me/Se,_SW\e‘cot“ I Meise,_Sw‘e _cot\" Me/sE,_Sw\e.Cc\"" Meggel-5 liyle, com N\e'\S e‘\5Bl'S “We. can’ we‘ N\e'\5Bl'S ‘We. can, M3'\sel—3 Cl/Ie. Cam we‘ because, even if marriage appears assimilationist, demanding equality for ambiguous gender roles is rad- ical? Radical or not, working to rid society of unfair privilege and breaking down the status quo is something I am proud to be a part of. ’ Bari Shamas lives in Putney. V Me,'Se,_Sw‘a _c,o<“ el-ScyIe_Q°')) Meiser-st-.y\e.c09‘ /Weisepstyl e _ cot“ Melisa!-Style . Gom gel-Style, com ll/leise,_Sw\e _cc\'T‘ Meisel-Style .609‘ /l/lsise,_Sw\e .co\"" gel-S l:yle_ Cam /We-ise,_Style V cot“ ’l4e,‘se,_SW‘e ‘ cot“ ale!-Style. ,5.’-seI_swle’cof"‘ The Vermont Coalition for ‘ Lesbian and Gay Rights will be hosting the 1 2000 Conference/ Town Meeting at the Vermont Technical College on October 21, 2300 Be a partlof the planning committee. Be a co—sponsor of the day. Call Virginia Renfrew at 802-498-4333 or‘ email at renfrew@eover.net