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Jungian Psychoanalyst Licensed Psychologist — Master 'l Specializing in issues of Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgendered individuals and couples Quechee — White River Junction (802) 295-5533 Insurance Accepted n January 30th four youth arrived in Burlington in the gray hours of the morning, ready for coffee, but also ready to “storm the Statehouse.” We piled into a car and drove to Montpelier as we talked about what we were going to do when we got there. It sounded pretty simple — go to the Statehouse, set up our trusty Outright Vermont display, and chat it up with the legis- lators. Our goal was simple: be i visible. When we arrived at the Statehouse (afier a stop for bagels and another for coffee) we walked to the Card Room — a small nook near the cafeteria. There, we joined the ranks of a couple other organizations with their own displays. Once we were set up and had gotten a little more coffee, we grabbed some brochures and introduced ourselves to the legislators in the hallway. Their responses were surprisingly support- ive. Legislators seemed very-willing to talk with us and put up with our unseasoned introductions. The legis- lators from our own towns received us especially well. They to.ld us to A call them with any concerns in the" future. . Everybody we talked to received an Outright brochure and we told them why -it is an important organization _for us. About half of the legislators knew about Outright and the other half seemed interested in learning about it. We didn’t encounter anyone who seemed disinterested or set back by us. . At 9:30 the visiting organi- zations entered the House Chamber and sat in the plush red seats facing the House. After many other intro- ductions and some announcements (including a birthday poem from one member to another), Representative Bill Lippert (D-Hinesburg) intro- duced us as “members of the gay, les- bian, bisexual, and transgender com- munity.” We stood up and received applause — and a couple strange looks. This meeting wasn't so excit- ing, but it was somewhat interesting to see the process the House goes through every morning. * After that exhilarating meeting, the queer organizations went ‘ to the Ethan Allen Room to meet with Rep. Lippert. This was the most inter- ' esting part of the day. Rep. Lippert talked about how important it is to get the queer voice out there, and to A really get involved in the democratic process. He stressed the importance of getting youth involved and excited about their future voting abilities. We were told about ways to get heard that don’t require voting. We received information about writing a good let- ter and making a good phone call to a government official, which was defi- nitely helpful. I’ve become reliant on the pre-written letters sent from email activism organizations, and I was very glad to learn how to write an effective letter for myself In this meeting we also Stormihg the Statehouse T . _-4-Kl-.$A(4. for about an hour, and the represgi tives had only discussed about ‘word changes by the time we leligl These changes were necessary ton effectiveness of the bill. For ex in one section the word “student”i used in the description of what V harassment is (unlawful discrimina tion “based on or motivated by as! dent’s...race, creed, color,” etc.). ll word had already been changed fr; “person,” but the debate at the me: ing was, “What if the student isb: harassed because of his parent's _ creed, race, color, etc.? What word will cover the student, the parents, and the friends without being too general like the word ‘person’?”T1 conversation was still continuing ' when we left. This was an inspiring da) had never been to the Statehouse before, so just being in that atmos; phere was cool in itself. Besidestli the conversations with legislatorsfi meetings, the ability to be complete “members of thegal lesbian, bisexual, a ’ transgender communi We stood up an received applause and a couple-it looked at a new harassment bill and a bill that “proposes to add gender identity to the list of protected classes in various statutes.” I had never seen a bill before and didn’t realize how much detail and editing is put into one. We leamed about this in'the Judiciary Committee meeting we attended. The Judiciary Committee meeting to discuss the harassment bill was long but it was interesting to see all the work that goes into writ- ing a bill. We sat in on the meeting strange lookl visible and out in a govemmentalfg arena, and seeing legislators wearifi upside down pink triangle stickersl support of queers made it a greateg cation and an awesome day. V 1 Lauren Parker is a junior at Champlain Valley Union High Schl in Hirzesburg.