editorial

in an era where working for glbtq rights
is passé, unnecessary, where we can just
be assimilated and live like everyone else,
here are two instructive stories.

In mid-April, the Douglas
Administration proposed regulations that
would ignore the Vermont Civil Union law
when assessing a same-sex couple for eligi-
bility for Medicaid funding for long-term
care. It’s one of those things you hope never
to need to know, but here it is.

Medicaid is made up of a combina-
tion of state and federal -funding. Under fed-
eralregulations, the state would not include
a same.-sex civil union partner’s income
when assessing the resources of a low-
income gay man or lesbian in need of long-
term care. This is the infamous “spend-
down” provision: how poor do we have to

_ get before Medicaid kicks in?

The existing regulation requires the
state to assess the financial resources of both
partners in a marriage when one spouse .
needs Medicaid-funded long-term care. But
the proposed regulation might end up cost-
ing the state money by excluding considera-
tion of a civil union spouse’s financial
resources.

I Confused yet?

It’s one of those places where
equality would cost gay men and lesbians
money, and even so, we want it. It’s like the
“marriage tax.” As Rep. Bill Lippeit said,
it’s what we “deliberately established” in the
civil union legislation: all the rights, bene-
fits, and responsibilities of marriage, includ-
ing supporting each other when we’re ill.

The regulation was approved by
the Legislature’s Administrative Rules
Committee, but as of press time, there was a
move afoot to reconsider. The regulation
ignoring the state civil union law for
Medicaid purposes could still be imposed by
the Administration over the objection of the
legislature. But if it was ever contested in
court, the burden of proof would fall on the
state rather than on the plaintiffs.

Bottom line: state regulations
should be the same for all of us, and the
Douglas Administration is apparently
attempting an end-run around the civil
' unions law, nibbling away at our new parity
by regulation instead of legislation. And
they’re doing itjust as we’re celebrating the
third anniversary of the signing of the civil
unions bill into law on April 26.

The second story involvesthe com-
ments of Pennsylvania Republican Senator
Rick Santorum, third in the Republican lead-

Just in case you thought we have arrived

Mat witt’s d

Homophobia, Continued

ership line in the Senate. In an interview
with the Associated Press, transcripts of the
relevant parts of which were circulated in
the Internet, Santorum outlined his view of
homosexuality as on a par with bigamy,
polygamy, incest, and adultery. He suggest-
ed that if the Supreme Court overturned
Texas’s same-sex sodomy law in a finding
supporting a right to privacy for consensual
sexual acts within one’s home, then those
“deviant” acts are what will result.
According to Santorum, the state should
have the right to regulate (read “criminal-

. ize”) any sexual activity that is not occur-

ring within a heterosexual marriage created
to beget children.

His comments were carefully
hedged with statements insisting that he has
“no problem with homosexuality. I have a
problem with homosexual acts.”

All the usual suspects among the
glbtq rights organizations have sent out
emails blasting Sen. Santorum’s bigoted and
offensive remarks and calling for him to
apologize or resign from his leadership
posts.

Among the Democratic candidates
for president, Sen. Bob Kerry was first off
themark with a one-paragraph statement
castigating the White House for its support
for Santorum. .

Second across the line was our
own former Governor Howard Dean, who
seems to have recognized the value of his
glbtq constituency only since leaving the
govemorship. He actually issued two
responses, a day apart, the first of which
cited the anniversary of his signing the civil
union law on April 26. I

What is more interesting to media-
watchers is that the press release was dis-

tributed by Witeck-Combs Communications,

an out gay public relations firm.

, Dean said, “That a leader of the
Republican Party would make such insensi-
tive and divisive comments — comments that
are derogatory and meant to hann an entire
group of Americans, their friends and their
families — is not only outrageous, but deeply
offensive.

“The silence with which President
Bush and the Republican Party leadership
have greeted Senator Santorum’s remarks is
deafening. It is the same silence that greeted
Senator Lott’s offensive remarks in
December. It is a silence that implicitly con-
dones a policy of domestic divisiveness, a
policy that seeks to divide Americans again
and again on the basis of race, gender, class,
and sexual orientation.

 
 

“It is a policy that must end, and it
is a policy that will end with a Dean
Presidency.

And in the second release, he said,
“Sen. Santorum has refused to apologize for
his repugnant remarks, calling his comments
‘a legitimate public policy discussion.’ Gay-
bashing is not a legitimate public policy dis-
cussion; it is immoral.”

We cannot rest, friends. Bigots are
everywhere and in Bush’s America we’re
criminals in too many places. Write letters,
march, make your voice heard and your
presence known in your town, state, and
nation in whatever way works best for you.
Silence will not help.

A Quiet, Powerful Impact

We note with sadness the sudden death late
last month of Kathleen Layman, age 48, of
Richmond, Vermont. Kathleen lived on the
western end of town, where she and her
partner Annie Condon built an indoor pool
and spa. Kathleen had coached UVM’s
divers, then taught Richmond’s children to
swim, coached the Blue Dolphins swim
team, ran’ aquatic fitness classes for adults,
and taught adaptive aquatics programs for
disabled youths.

Not known as an activist on gay
and lesbian issues, she worked with the
town’s children and made a quiet and pow-
erful impact as a positive, trustworthy role
model for athletic achievement, a level of
involvement that is as important as march-
ing in demonstrations. Parents whose chil-
dren were on the swim team praised her
ability to build confidence in her young
competitors. *

. Kathleen was also a talented land-
scape photographer.

She continued to help others after
her death through the arrangements she had
made for organ donation.

Kathleen is survived by her part-
ner, Annie, and their three children. The
family asked that anyone wishing to make a
memorial contribution contact the American
Civil Liberties Union (phone: 212-549-
2585). _

We did not know her, but we wish
we did. We drove past the sign for her spa
and fitness center many times, thinking we

should go, and never did. And now we can’t.

Carpe diem, seize the day. Every day tell
those you love that you love them. Reach
out to new people in our communities and
welcome them. Speak your truth how ever
you can. Love life and help kids do their
best — that’s what Kathleen did.

Euan Bear

  

 

George W. Bush. That's not how we resolve conflict
in this school. YOU‘VE FAILED DIPLOMACY

       
       
  
   

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-- Kindergarden

I Everything I need to know
I teamed in Kindergarden

He. says Diplomacy Failed ‘
We Say He Fai led Qiglomugy

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