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Professional design, installation & customer service. 17 Salisbury St., Randolph, Vermont 05060 Andrea Easton *** 802-728-5067 *** by Appt. Andrea has 20 year of Design Experience Creating Comfortable Living Home to sell in Randolph! 3 bedroom, maybe 4; we use it for family space. Large 1st floor lay- out. Mostly Renovated 1912 home, new plumbing and electric, Oil furnace, Wood stove, and 2 cord of dry firewood ready to go. Ceiling fans in all bedrooms Maple floors upstairs and down. Original Slate f, well cared Private, fenced, and yard with 8 x 12 «‘. cris.§o.qwlag;". _ "mice garden‘ '1' “ « is ., /Showingby appt. 802-728-4875 or ocomfoits@ade|phia.net 'gons;;for_i§onoi1_b -' ’ ‘ QUEERSUMMIT VII Gets Out the Vote Bv CHRISTOPHER KAUFMAN ineteen Vermont GLBT organizations met at Vermont’s historic State House in downtown Montpelier on a sunny Saturday in late June to begin planning coordinated efi"orts to register more voters and turn out GLBT and allied voters in November. As part ofthe Queer Summit program organized by R.U.l.2? Queer Community Center, this was the first time in recent years that Vermont’s GLBT organi- zations came together to plan strate- gy for the upcoming elections. Beth Robinson, an attor- ney working with the Vermont Fund for Families, a pro-gay political action committee said, “The Vermont Fund for Families will be making endorsements and working on a few targeted races at the state level. In the past"we’ve mobilized volunteers to do a lot of this work. Rather than creating another layer of bureaucracy, this year we’ll plug people directly into the campaigns we support.” Robinson, with help from Sherry Corbin of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force and Rep. Bill Lippert, D-Hinesburg, also helped explain to the many organi- zations present what kinds of activi- ties are permissible by the different types of non-profit organizations represented in the room. Robinson noted that Vermont “has a lot of different “ types of organizations, most people at the Summit are from 501c3 I grganization which deduc- registration and “Get Out the Vote” -I or GOTV campaigriing to ensure tlieirnportance of this elpction to "T: — ‘I 2:‘. . ’ - . . .0 "” P3 ‘ . "Fl.<'>Iy.z,«h.-a'11__ti _<‘iL’BT‘lexiis’1a ,, .. A ‘ ‘ cliair the judicial retention coni1iiiit;¥f‘f' tee. In theiicoming session, this co‘i'n=' that their members and constituents reach the polls on time. ‘ This seventh Queer Summit was the first to invite repre- sentatives of the three main political parties in Vermont. Scudder Parker, chairman of the Vermont Democratic Party, and Karin Eade, _ a member of the coordinating com- mittee of the Vermont Progressive Party attended the Summit repre- senting their Parties. Both have long-term ties to the Vermont GLBT community. Parker and his partner Susan Sussman are mem- bers of R.U.l.2? Queer Community Center while Eade was one of the early Executive Directors of Outright Vermont. Repeated attempts to secure participation in the Summit by a representative of the Vermont Republican Party were ultimately unsuccessful. Republican Party staffer Ian Grossman told R.U. l .2? that only Party Chairman Jim Barnett could represent the Party at the Summit. Barnett was unavail- able to attend. The Progressive and Democratic representatives both explained their parties’ work on voter registration and GOTV efforts and were questioned by organiza- tion representatives on their out- reach to potential GLBT voters and _volunteers. Both promised to look into recruiting volunteers in gay- ' friendly venues like Out in the Mountains. Both Parties were a major presence at the Vermont PRIDE Festival two weeks later. Rep. Lippert urged organ- izers in the room to use their voices as organizational leaders to explain 9 ‘.__ ‘ mittee willhold hearings on whether ‘A the Rutland.StateF »' V or not to reinstate Vermont’s gay- friendly Supreme Court Justices for additional terms of office. It is pos- sible that the current Republican majority could reject judges per- ceived as too liberal. Robinson also urged organizers not to forget the national agenda — at least a dozen states are fighting constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, while the Bush administration is currently pushing for passage of a federal anti-gay constitutional amendment. At press time, the federal amend- ment appears to be dead for this election year, but there seems little doubt that a re-elected President Bush would continue to use the power of his office to push back civil rights gains for GLBT People. The seventh Queer Summit closed with a powerful demonstration of the work we have ahead of us; Malisa Gemmel, newly arrived from California and a representative of the Barony of All Vermont registered to vote and took Vermont’s Voter’s Oath in front of the assembled organizers to much applause. Many of those present vowed to become notaries public and begin registering voters at their own organizations. Outright Vermont and R.U.1.2? Queer Community Center can register voters in person at their offices or on their websites at www.outrightvt.org or www.rul2.org. The Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force will be registering voters at the Addison County Fair and Field Days, the T unbridge World’s Fair, the Champlain Valley Exposition and . it 2" ‘°*«:g,-1-'*:~ .2 ‘ ‘ . nswas44§g»sg.astm>zg»o,., V71 To be invitedrofimire Summits con-' tact him at 8023860. 7812. I