...._a.-.¢~,,..yo...»;-_-.—,~._..7 (_____~__ . v 7.-'2'-’~ "—. A'—'u"i~"4.V'\,AA 4.’. 4'. . 5. . . . . .343‘. 4. ('1. s o. «J-:4’; «Io . a « . . I; 2 ii" ,.. 1. if i~;_ N TH EM 0 UN TAINS Volume XVI, Number 6 Jzurlyw 2oo1 -._. k_ . . www.mountainpridemedia.org Vermonters Celebrate Civi|Unions BY PAUL OLSEN BURLINGTON — Vermonters celebrated both gay pride and the first anniver- sary of Vermont’s historic civil union law at the state’s Pride Day celebration on June 16. The scorching heat didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the Pride Day participants who marched through Bur1ington’s downtown and held both pre- and post-parade rallies along the beautiful shores of Lake Champlain. , While gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender pride was the official theme of the day, the fact that civil unions survived legislative attempts to both repeal and water down the law wasnot far from the minds of many Pride Day revilers. Openly gay state Rep. Bill Lippert (D-Hinesburg) told the crowd that although civil unions survived the recently e’wa§ not over. “Civil unions remains intact but civil unions has been under attack,” he said. “The success of civil unions has brought the biggest anti-gay backlash in Vermont’s history but we have stood firm and civil unions stand firm.” 3“ Lippert added that Vermont’s civil union debate would likely continue into the elections in 2002. “We have a challenge,” he said. ’“We need concluded flegislative session, , to remember that this is a long- haul battle. We must mobilize ourselves for the ‘election of 2002 in a way that we have not anticipated previously. They want to take back the state sen- ate and govemorship so they can take civil unions from us, but we will not let it happen. We must back candidates who support civil unions.” Sherry Corbin, a representa- tive of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force,. echoed Lippert’s~ sentiments. “As we celebrate new civil unions and celebrate the first year anniver- sary of old civil unions, let’s remember that our job is not done,” she said. “We’re con- stantly under attack on this, and we’ve got a long way to go. We still have a lot of work to do.” In the closing weeks of the legislative session Verrnont’s_ House of Representatives approved H.502, a bill to repeal Vermont’s landmark‘ civil union law ‘and replace it with a broader “reciprocal partnerships” law open to gay couples and blood relatives like two sisters or.a father and his daughter. Two separate efforts to repeal the civil union law out- right failed by votes of 111-to 30 and 94 to 47. Opponents of the reciprocal partnerships proposal charac- as. Participants who marched through Bu.r|ington’s downtow_n held both pre- and post-parade rallies by lake Champlain. .. ‘e¢<~.«:o ermonters withstd the scorchi‘ eat to celebrate Pde Day on Saturday, June 16. BY PAUL OLsEN BURLINGTON — Recently released U.S. Census data show a 422% increase in the number of same-sex partner households in Vermont. Census figures revealed 1,171 households headed by female couples and 762 households headed by male couples. Vermont’s total population is just above 608,000. Early last year, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) and Human Rights Campaign (HRC), both Washington DC based gay advocacy groups, joined forces to launch the “Make Your Family Count” educa- tional campaign designed to encourage same-sex couples living in the same household to mark the “Unmarried Partners” option on the 2000 census form. Dan Berns and Jay Schuster of Richmond said they didn’t think twice about checking off the “unmarried partners” box. “We’re civil unioned so we thought that that was the appropriate box,” Berns said. “It was an easy decision for us.” HRC representatives wel- comed Vermont’s new census figures. “These figures repre- sent a very positive trend,” said David M. Smith, HRC’s communications director. “In our opinion, the increase reveals more and more cou- ples are willing to identify themselves as same-sex part- ners in a federal survey, but many continue to fear a back- lash from anti-gay policies at the federal level, and contin- ued societal anti-gay bias.” In spite of the fact that the number of same-sex partner households in Vermont increased from 370 in 1990 to 1,933 in 2000 and 88% per- cent of Vermont’s 251 towns had same-sex partner couples living in_ them, many" gay and lesbian activists believe that the new figures underestimate the true number of same-sex Census Figures Show Increase in Same—Sex Households partner households in the state. “That’s got to be a low esti- mate,” said Keith Goslant, a representative of the Vermont Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights. “I think that we as a community, ‘despite all of the advances that we have made in Vermont, are still a little apprehensive telling govern- mental agencies who we are and how to find us. 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