20 ' OITN april 2001 VERMONT'S NEWSPAPER FOR BISEXUALS, LESBIANS AND GAY MEN June 1992 Volume VII, Numbers Volume VII, Number 4 May 1992 It Passed! Deborah Lashman - After a long wait and much hard work, the civil rights bill is on its way to becoming law. Vennont is poised to become the sixth state in the U.S., joining Wisconsin, Mas- sachusetts, ‘Connecticut, Hawaii, and New Jersey, in providing civil rights protections for its lesbian and gay citizens. Final House approval came April 13th, on a vote of 73 to 67 with 9 members voting ab- sent. Initially approved the previous Friday, by a vote of 71 to 58 with 20 members vot- ing absent, the bill survived weekend ef- forts to derail it. A last minute attempt to kill the bill, en- gineered by Rep. Nancy Sheltra, R-Derby, failed Tuesday afternoon when the House defeated by a vote of 80 to 67 a motion by Robert Starr, D-Troy to reconsider Mon- day's vote. The Senate Judiciary Com- mittee has concurred with language chang- es in the House version, so all that remains at press time is an expected full con- currance by the Senate on April 16th and signature by Governor Dean, a staunch sup- porter of the bill. A wide margin of success (20-9) in passing the bill in the Senate earlier in April gave supporters encouragement for the Fight in .the House. Keith Goslant, Co-Liaison to the Govemor, Statewide Coalition for Lesbians and Gay Men, said he was suprised that the bill was approved by such a margin. ‘‘It shows change is really happening. This gives me every indication this bill is going to pass this session." Senate approval came after an hour of debate, during which Sen- ator David Wolk, chief sponsor of the bill, remarked, “It is incumbent on us together to establish the highest standards and common expectations in Vermont that we will not toleratc'prejudice.” Ron Squires, Vermont's only openly gay representative spoke near the end of the de- bate in the House on Friday, “This bill is not about special privileges or rights. It's _ about giving gay men and lesbians the same rights that you all have. I cannot tell you how I felt as this bodv debated whether or not I had the same privileges as the other _149 members of this House and 30 mem- bers of the body across the hall.” Op- ponents attacked either ignored or down- played the need for civil rights protections, instead attacking the bill on “moral" grounds. Rep. Merrill Perley, R-Enosburg said, “It's amoral issue. To pass this bill, it would be against my Christian beliefs.” Supporters were relieved and jubilant at the outcome. Susan Sussman, Executive Di- rector of the State Office of Human Rights, said, “It‘s so spectacular. A couple of months ago we needed to turn around 30 votes. It was only a week or two ago that it really began to look possible.” Keith Gos- lant said, “This is the first time in my 38 . years I feel like a real citizen.” “It’s in the long Vermont tradition of people protecting people’s rights to privacy and their.civil rights,” said Governor Dean. Speaker of the House, Ralph Wright remarked, “It sends a signal to all people that the state of Ver- mont will not tolerate discrimination wherever it is found.” - ' Ciil Rights BilSigned, Deborah Lashrnan “This bill is now law.” With those words Govcmor Howard Dean signed S-131, a bill to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and added Vermont to the list of states with such legislation. In . a ceremony on April 24, attended by close to 100 supporters, the six year bat- tle came to a successful conclusion. Ap- plause, hugs and cheers filled the Ex- ecutive Chamber as the bill was signed. Speaker Ralph Wright, Senator David Wolk, and Representative Vi Luginbuhl, all crucial supporters of the bill, joined the Govcmor at the table. Governor Dean also mentioned the support of former Representative Chet Ketcham, who worked on the bill in previous sessions and is now a probate judge in Addison County. (Judge Kctchatn ruled in favor of a second parent adoption by a lesbian couple late last year, March ‘92 OITM). Among those standing behind the Gov- ernor during the signing were Keith Gos- lant and Holly Perdue of the Vermont Coalition of Lesbians and Gay Men, Su- san Sussman, Executive Director of the Photo Gene Barfield State Office of Human Rights, and Rep- resentative Ron Squires, Vermont’s only openly gay legislator. Senator Wolk pointed to the hat- emongering, threats, and attacks on mem- bers of the legislature and their families, including calls and letters to his family as even more evidence of the “compelling need for this legislation.” Several members of the Legislature found burned or defaced American flags on their doorsteps. One Senator was threat- ened by a constituent who came to his door, asked how he had voted on the bill and then “said she would be back with a gun.” 1 - Governor Dean thanked the members of ‘ the Legislature and also said “I want to thank everyone in this room for your‘cou- rage and help in making this a reality. l’ve never been prouder to sign a bill publically...lt’s the right thing to do.” He Continued on page 18 Civil Rights Bill Signed Continued from page 1 handed the pen used to sign the bill to Keith Goslant of whom Senator Wolk said, “Keith probably had a better at- tendance record than some of the mem- bers” (of the Legislature). Even after the final vote, supporte found it hard to believe the bill was re- ality. Passed relatively easily in the Sen- ate by a vote of 20-9, the bill faced an uphill fight in the House. Arrong the hurdles were language changes, in- cluding a controversial addition to ex- clude automatic coverage of domestic partners by Ruth Stokes (also a member of the Board of Trustees at UVM); and fierce. lobbying by fundamentalist groups, including Palm Sunday sennons chastising several representatives. A last minute effort to kill it through re- consideration failed on a vote of 80 to 67, a wider margin than the bill itself re- ceived. After the signing, supponcrs, still some- what in awe that it really was true, greet- ed one another with the words, “Hi cit- izen,” a reference the feeling expressed by many during the course of the fight that they did not feel like real citizens of the state since they lacked the legal pro- tections and rights of other citizens. S-131 takes effect on_ July 1, 1992fFor more on the bill see Susan Sussman’s ar- ticle, “What to Do Next: Enforcement of ' the Anti-Discrimination Bill” on page 10 and Ron Squires’ testimony reprinted on page 4. V .--c Relive OLll" l’llSliOl"y Ol’llll’l€ at —> www.motmtainpridemedia.otfg/ottm_index.htm