HA Iypical of “Ex-Gay” Groups

I read with interest about Andre’s efforts at start-
ing a chapter of Homosexuals Anonymous in this
area. I think it should be noted that the founder of
Homosexuals Anonymous, Colin Cook, was asked
to leave his “ex-gay” ministry for having sex with
men seeking counseling from him. As far as I
know. he is still claiming he is “ex-gay” and
engaged in ministry.

However, that is typical of“ex-gay”
ministries. Many of their leaders may act straight
but inside they are still gay. They live lives based
on denial. That’s why these ministries speak of
"struggling” with homosexuality. It is not surpris-
ing that_a few get caught, like John Paulk of
Exodus lntemational, in gay bars and cruising
areas.

“Ex-gay" ministries claim many “victo-
ries" over homosexuality, but there are no real sta-
tistics to back those claims. According to one “ex-
gay“ leader (who is straight by the way), they
don’t have the time to crunch any numbers. On the
other hand. there are plenty of ex-ex-gays whose
lives were traumatized by these ministries and
[who] have since spoken out against them. includ-
ing many founders and leaders of“ex-gay" min-
istries. The two founders of Exodus lntemational,
Michael Bussee and Gary Cooper, wound up
falling in love and leaving the organization, pro-
claiming that they never once saw an “ex-gay.”
Frank Shears was a viciously anti-gay crusader in
Vancouver, BC and former director of Exodus
lntemational who was sick of struggling and came
out as a gay man just before he died ofAIDS. Rev.
Craig Buxton. a Methodist minister, headed a
chapter of Homosexuals Anonymous before he
accepted the fact that he was gay. It is little won-
der that many of the current leaders of “ex-gay”
ministries are straight. V

Much of this information I gathered
from Evangelicals Concerned. an organization
founded by Dr. Ralph Blair who has spent nearly
25 years exposing “ex-gay” claims. They can be
reached at wvvw.ecinc.org. There is also a web site
called ExGay Nomad which also has information
regarding these ministries (members.aol.com/
exgaynomad/index.htm).

The tragedy about Andre is that he and
others like them are so filled with self-loathing
and homophobia that they must get involved with
organizations that confimi those negative feelings.
Only when they learn to love and accept them-
selves can they truly be the person God or some
such higher power wants them to be.

Michelle “Mikki” Thomas.
Burlington

While not all “ex-gay" groups are organized on
the I2-step model, it should be noted that none of
the I2-step groups keeps statistics on those who
attend its meetings. Other behavioral modification
programs do keep statistics. — EB

Shumlin Has Best chance

The upcoming race for Lieutenant Governor pres-
ents a difficult choice for our community. Both
Anthony Pollina and Peter Shumlin would support
our issues. For me, the more pressing question is
who has the best shot of actually getting into
office. .

Assume for a moment that the
Republicans maintaintheir majority of House
seats. If Shumlin and Pollina split the liberal vote,
neither one will get the 50% needed to -win out-
right. Come January, the decision is made by the
legislature. I can’t imagine them voting (in secret,
let’s remember!) for either Shumlin or Polina.
That very likely scenario would put Republican
Brian Dubie in the leadership role ofthe Senate.

Last session it was the Democratic
Senate that put a stop to legislation repealing civil
unions, restricting access to abortion and many
efforts to water down environmental laws. Next
session may well see the start the process to add a
"defense" of marriage provision to our constitu-
tion. Who wants Republican Dubie (who supports
DOMA) in charge of that debate?

I spent a lot oftime in the State House
during'the civil unions debates. It was the
Democrats who stood up for us and suffered losses
as a result in the 2000 elections. Some of my
Progressive friends say there’s no difference
between Democrats & Republicans. If you believe
that, especially with GLBT issues, you must have
had your head in the sand these past few years!
Need some proof, imagine for a moment,
Governor Dwyer. Please, vote and vote wisely.

Chuck Kletecka
Waterbury Center

Pollina Has Real Compassion

I had the opportunity to work with both Anthony
Pollina and Peter Shumlin this past year. It was
during the hearings for the medical marijuana bill.
It did not take me long to see which one plays the
game of politics and which one truly cares about
seriously ill Vermonters. '

In June, I recognized 20 years of HIV
infection as a result of a blood transfusion. I have
been treated for HIV with drugs since 1988. I have
also experienced severe side effects from most of
these drugs. Mostly, I suffer from nausea and
vomiting and severe rashes.

I am very fortunate to have survived
this disease for this long, and I pray I will contin-
ue living in relative good health for many more
years. However, the use of marijuana, for medical
purposes, is one of the reasons I am doing as well
as I am today. It allows me to ease my nausea and
vomiting, allowing me to eat well and retain what
I ingest. When all my attention is not consumed
by the nausea, I am able to be a better mother,

wife, sister, daughter, business owner, and citizen
of Vennont.

Peter Shumlin misled us to believe that
he supported the medical marijuana bill that came
to the Senate after it passed the House. On
February 15, 2002, he stated in the Rutland Herald
that he thought it was “a thoughtful bill.”
However, Peter Shumlin, while holding a high
position in the Senate, essentially ensured that this
bill died. When a group of consumers got together
to hold a press conference about the lack of under-
standing around this issue in the legislature. Peter
Shumlin scheduled his own press conference 30
minutes before ours to “outdo” us in opposition to
the House bill. He tried to push a version of the
bill (he temied it a “compromise”, but it was real-
ly a political move) which would have resulted in
forcing seriously ill patients to deal with drug
dealers — a position that was totally unacceptable
to consumers. is this the way he intends to operate
as Lieutenant Govemor — trying to outmuscle and
outwit vulnerable Vermonters’? After the show he
put on last legislative session. it wouldn’t surprise
me one bit.

It takes true leadership to make difficult
decisions. Allowing patients to improve their qual-
ity oflife through the medicinal use of marijuana.
when a doctor and patient together determine
whether the benefits outweigh the risks, would be
a true act of leadership. Bowing to political party
pressures (when the majority of Vermonters under-
stand and support the need for medical marijuana)
is an act of cowardice, not leadership.

I had extensive conversations with
Anthony Pollina over this issue and he truly gets it
— he understands the needs of seriously ill
Vermonters and he has a compassion and empathy
that is truly lacking in Peter Shumlin.

I know in my heart that Anthony Pollina
has the courage and the integrity to listen to
Vermonters — to really listen. Anthony was right
there with us in supporting this bill - beside us,
working with us. I believe that is where he will be
as Lieutenant Governor.

Katherine Perera
Hancock

Racine Partisan Urges LGBTQs to
Vote .

Thank you for interviewing the men who want to
be Vennont’s next Govemor. If we needed any
further evidence of how important it is to vote in
November, those interviews surely provided it.
Clearly, our rights and our futures are at stake as
much in this election as they were in 2000. The
harsh rhetoric from that election may have been
toned down but the underlying homophobia
remains.
We need to participate in this election as

if our lives depend on it. We need to register and

letters

to vote. We need to volunteer our time and our
money to support candidates who are committed
to working with us. We need to elect people who
value human rights.

The choice for Governor could be no ,
clearer. Doug Racine is intelligent, experienced,
thoughtful and compassionate. Doug has consis-
tently been a clear and effective ally for LGBT
Vermonters. He has worked with members of our
community at every step along the way in our
efforts to establish our equal rights. He has heard
our issues and concerns and shared his insights
and his inlluence. He has not shied away from our
struggles, he has championed them.

Doug Raeine‘s OITM interview shows
his understanding ofinany of the issues that we
face and his willingness to clearly and publicly
state his commitment to our cause. In the last year
he has spent many hours meeting illld working
with groups from within our community on impor-
tant issues. He has listened to LGBT youth
describe the daily challenges they face and to
I'llV+ Vermonters outline their physical, economic
and social struggles. He clearly wants to work
with us as partners on a wide range of important
issues for Vermont.

I urge all LGBT Vermonters and our
allies to register and to vote. Our rights and
futures depend on the outcome ofNovember’s
elections. We need to elect Doug Racine Governor
and we need to send people to the Vermont House
and Senate who will work with him and us to
build a better future for all Vermonters.

Tim Palmer
Williston

Tim Palmer is the Chittemlen County coordinator
for the Racine for Governor campaign.

No Needles in Our Back Yard

I am sure many of your readers understand what is
meant by “hindsight is 20/20" but for those who
do not, let me explain. What is meant by this
adage is that though you cannot see into the
future, what is in the past is very clear, like perfect
vision, hence 20/20. This saying should hold true
when it comes to a sure way of preventing blood-
borne pathogens from spreading in our population.
Twenty plus years ago a virus was

entering our society with very little acknowledge-
ment from government officials. The virus was
called the “Gay Related Infectious Disease” or
GRID. It was years before scientists finally agreed
to call it the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or
HIV. It took many thousands of lives before peo-
ple understood that it was a disease that could
infect any human being, no matter what their sex-
ual persuasion

was 11 is we“ > continued on page 

listed in a box with Christopher

Corrections:

Granoff’s Greenlanders comic last

Lgoking over the photos of the
andidates for the three political
races featured in last month's
issue, I felt just a bit uneasy, and
finally I realized what was missing:
there's not one woman among
them.

Why not?

Of course, I'd prefer it not
be just anyone with either a double-
X chromosome or a ‘female gender
identity presentation.’ I can think of
a few female faces I’d just as soon
not see in a statewide candidates’
line-up this year. But you'd think
that the Progressives or the
Democrats at least could find a
strong woman candidate to field in
one of the top spots. And who do
the Republicans have to replace
the totally class act that Barbara

editor's notebook

Snelling brought to the Golden
Dome?

Which is not to ignore
Auditor Liz Ready or Secretary of
State Deb Markowitz, both running
for re-election.

lt’s just that this particular
collection of photos was all suits
and ties, jackets and guys. A little
more gender diversity would be a
‘good thing.’ And no, although I’ve
used a favorite phrase of the tyrant-
tycoon of home fashions, I wouldn’t
want to see Martha Stewart's face
in the line-up either.

f course, there are plenty of

other therapists who are gay-
friendly and have experience in
helping men heal from childhood
sexual abuse in Vermont than we

Kaufman’s review of Men Leaping
Upon Mountains. As often happens
at deadline time, I called someone I
know, whose contacts happened to
be in northwestern Vermont.
Christopher Kaufman has helped
us correct that imbalance to a
degree with the following list (as of
press time. we were awaiting call-
backs from therapists in the
Northeast Kingdom and in the
Upper Valley).

Southeastern Vermont:
Michael Gigante — 254-8032;
Maryann Parrott — 258-3069;
Esha Dakavana - 254-6860;
Diane Leardi — 254-7345.

West-Central Vermont:
Kathy Judge — 775-4500;
Catherine Thomas — 775-6400.

V We let slip by the misspelling of
anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly’s name
in Crow's Caws last month. Not on
purpose, honest.

V Nor was it intentional that we
incorrectly listed the phone number
for the anti-gay Homosexuals
Anonymous at the end of that news
article. The correct number is 862-
7545.

V I also managed to misspell
Leah Wittenberg’s last name in the
Contributor's list last issue. Sorry
Leah. »

V And in case any other English
major with an “l’m-eruditer-than-
you” complex wondered, “to the
manner born” is the correct spelling
for the phrase used in Stuart

month. The phrase comes from
Shakespeare’s Hamlet and refers
to customs (manners), not riches
(manors): Act I, Scene IV:
Someone asks about a flourish of
trumpets, ‘‘Is it a custom?” Hamlet
says: “Ay, marry, is’t:/ But to my
mind, though I am native here/And
to the manner born, it is a cus-
tom/More honor’d in the breach
than the observance." Granoff not
only had it right, but provided the
documentation. V