Mardi Gras Cheers &
Jeers
Congratulations to the Magic Hat
Brewery for another great Mardi
Gras Parade. Many thanks to Peter
Anthony, Mayor of Barre, for driv-
ing and Bellevance Trucking Co. for
providing the truck. Without their
help the Outright Vermont float
would not have been possible. We
have always enjoyed entering a float
in the parade and had not experi-
enced any problems until this year.
Outright Vermont is usual-
ly one of a handful of youth floats
and often the only openly gay-
themed float. This year we were dis-
mayed to discover that some in the
crowd didn’t think we all deserve to

celebrate Mardi Gras together. This
year the young people on our float
were tauntediby homophobic jeers
as we rumbled up Church St. The
taunts and jesters were easily lost
among the thousands of supporters
who drowned them out, but the g
beads being thrown back at our float
were harder to ignore.

Far be it from us to
declare the acts of a few to be the
thoughts of many. But these acts of
homophobia are yet another exam-
ple of why the work of Outright
Vermont is so important in our state.
These acts are symptomatic of the
climate that all our young people are
growing up in. The reality is that
many areas in VT, even Burlington,

contribute,
advertise!

(out in the mountains)

are not safe places for all to cele- _
brate who we are.

We continue to advocate
and support LGBTQ around the
state, and encourage community
members all over Vermont to contin-
ue to speak truth and love to the acts
of hate in our communities.

Lluvia Mulvaney-Stanak
Co-Director, Outright Vermont

Marriage Marches On
A decision by a California judge
March 14 held that gay couples —
including one that has been together
51 years — are entitled to the same
legal rights as any other married

couples. Judges in New York City,
Washington State and of course
Massachusetts have found the same
thing.

This is great news for the
Republicans, who scare the public
on the gay marriage issue to win
elections, then go on to try to cut
Social Security benefits, thwart
funding for education and health
care, impose a global ban on embry-
onic stem cell research, eliminate
the estate tax, criminalize abortion,
drill for oil in the Alaska Wildlife
Refuge, attain a filibuster-proof lock
on all three branches of government,
and so on. The longer gay marriage
can be kept in the news, the better
for Republicans.

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  letters

But what are judges to do?
Conclude that a couple of 51 years
should be enti_tled to equal protec-
tion under the law — but then rule
otherwise?

It is a dilemma. Yet atti-
tudes are changing. Soon, I hope
that a majority of Americans decides
it’s just not that important to them if
gays get drivers’ licenses, marriage
licenses, liquor licenses, or any of
the other civil stuff law-abiding citi-
zens get.

William Stosine
Iowa City, Iowa

41004

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