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p ness growing toward its
longest reign. That’s a simple fact of
astronomy, of living in the northern
hemisphere.

And yes, it might be a
metaphor for the national election
results to those of us who distrust the
Bush administration’s demonization
of Iraq’s oil-rich dictator, an admit-
tedly easy target for demagoguery.
Not to mention the ongoing erosion

of privacy and civil rights for all citi-

zens being orchestrated by Attorney
General John Ashcroft.

But if I believe in anything,
it’s that the light will return, begin-
ning in the physical world on
December 22 (perhaps not measura-
bly, yet, but within a week or so,
we’ll have gained a few minutes).

In the meantime, we light
candles and shield those fragile
flames from guttering gales.

We hold onto the historic
election of the first woman —»
unabashed liberal Nancy Pelosi — to
national party leadership in the US
House of Representatives as one
potential candle.

We got a lot of candles in
the form of Vermont legislators com-
mitted to upholding the civil unions
law as currently written, including
Vermont Freedom to Marry Task
Force Executive Director Mitzi
Johnson, from Grand Isle. As one
political activist told me, “In terms of
the effects on our daily lives, I’d
rather- have the Republicans at the top
of the ticket where they can’t do too

editorial

Believing in the Light

e light is dying away in the
. December evenings, the dark-

much harm, than in a majority in the
legislature.”

We in Vermont are a candle
for the rest of the country, lighting
the way toward equality in rights for
gay and lesbian couples. Cities in
other states have lit their own candles
against the continuing hate-crime
murders of transwomen and transmen
by passing legal protections for trans-
gender individuals.

And yet, we are not all safe
or warm, we do not live in a glbt-
friendly paradise in Vermont.
Repressive neighbors too often pro-
vide the gusts that blow out our can-
dles of hope and joy. Steven George
Smith’s Franklin County neighbors
hurl anti-gay epithets at him on the
street, and some of them allegedly
assaulted him at his not-so-friendly
neighborhood bar. Rachel Erickson’s
school board can’t decide whether
she can show that her classroom is a
harassment-free zone — a safe space —
for her students.

Even now, after all our
struggles, and in spite of legal protec-
tions, some of us cannot getjustice.
You can only protect your civil rights
if you can afford a lawyer and there’s
someone to sue. Steven George
Smith doesn’t have that luxury. He’s
a classic outsider, disabled, poor, gay
and alone, with no network of close
friends and allies to support him. His
story is an object lesson in how far
we still have to go.

If you are not poor and dis-
abled and living in a hostile commu-
nity this December, count your bless-
ings. If you have not had to try to

find justice in a system where the
gears grind slowly and all too often
grind up the hapless victims it should
help, feel glad that you live in the
light in a dark season in a dark
world.

Light some candles this
month: for how far we’ve come and
how far we still have to go. For trans
teen Gwen Araujo and the other 24
known transgender dead through hate
violence; for Rachel Erickson and her
questioning students; for Steven
George Smith and all our brothers
and sisters who live with the dark-
ness of other people’s souls.

If you are safe and warm
this December — as many of us are —
light a candle, whether it’s for
Chanukah, Solstice, Christmas, or
Kwanzaa, or just because we need
more light in a dark world. If we
light enough candles, the darkness
will retreat.

« 2

Euan Bear
Inirfi"

CORRECTIONS

V In case it wasn’t obvious, the can-
didate endorsements by Vennonters for
Civil Unions on the back page oflast
month’s issue were paid advertising.
We should have labeled that page as
such.

V And, obviously I’m still haunted by
the hobgoblin of inconsistency regard-
ing Leah Wittenberg’s last name. l’ll
keep trying to get it right, Leah.

 

Different Strokes

It was more of a shock than it should
have been, given the WPTZ Channel 5
news team’s propensity for sensational-
izing news stories. But I did sit bolt
upright when Thom I-lallock announced
that a gay group had been granted a
permit for a “nudist camp.”

The short (45 seconds
maybe?) story indicated that the camp
was Faerie Camp Destiny in Grafion
and Chester. It was pretty outrageous —
the release could have been written by
the die-hard opposition whose primary
issue with the permit was the possible
devaluation of neighboring property
because of nudity on the site.

Next day the story in — of all
places — the Burlington Free Press had
it right: Gay Retreat Gains Permit.

Cyber-Advocacy

Just thought you might want to know
that the San Franciso Bay-area based
Online Policy Group (www.onlinepoli-
cy.org) caters to underserved popula-
tions; Who, for example? Queer par-
ents, a leather fetish group, and a '
women’s peace group thrown off their

ISP for some recent examples. lt’s a
nonprofit organization dedicated to
online policy research, outreach, and
action on issues such as access, priva-
cy, and what they call “digital defama-
tion.” Its motto is “One Internet With
Equal Access for All.” OPG “focuses
on Internet participants’ civil liberties
and human rights, like access, privacy,
safety, and serving schools, libraries,
disabled, elderly, youth, women, and
sexual, gender, and ethnic minorities.”

Its featured website this time
around: Prospective Queer Parents, a
forum for the exchange of information
and a social gathering space for queer
(lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
etc.) people who are interested in
childraising and parenting (www.queer-
parentsorg). '

Its featured domain name:
Leather Leadership Conference, an
organization “dedicated to strengthen-
ing the SM/Leather/Fetish community
through the development of the leader-
ship skills of community members and
fostering a greater sense of connection
between and within community groups
(www.leatherleadership.org).

Godless Americans March

Well, it’s about time! An estimated
2500 atheists and humanists marched
on Washington last month, representing
over 200 organizations in what was
billed as the first national civil rights
march “by and for freethinkers.”

Among the signs: “Al-
Quaida Is a Faith-Based Initiative."

Counter demonstrators lined
the march route and chanted, shouted
and prayed that the “godless” would go
to the hell they refuse to believe in.

Among the marching throng:
Gay and Lesbian Atheists and
Humanists (GALAH), which has
apparently been around for 18 years. Its
goals include supporting glbt equality,
educating people about atheism and
humanism, supporting the separation of
church and state, and providing social
opportunities for its members to meet.
The Washington-based organization,
which identifies religion as the source
for most anti-gay hatred and bigotry,
offers a monthly newsletter and has a
website: www.galah.org.

Advocate’s 35th

It’s the damdest thing. I wanted to put a ,

little piece in The Rest of Our World
about the 35th anniversary of The
Advocate, but apparently a person has
to buy the print version in order to get
a look at the actual armiversary issue.
On the website, there’s a brief article
by Boy George celebrating Scotland’s
beating England to the punch in elimi-
nating infamous antigay provisions and
a virtual gallery of photos and artwork
— and that was it! Ah. well, Happy
Birthday any way. V_