I

 

BY GABRIELLE CELES'l'E

urlington - Members of the queer com-
Bmunity were invited to take part and to
watch the Pride 2005 parade in down-
town Burlington, which was the kickoff for
the day’s events on Saturday, July 9. The
march started in the back parking lot of
Edmunds Middle School despite the relentless
rain. Among them were the QLA Queer-
leaders, who kept up the crowd’s spirits.
Marching in the parade as well were Outright
with their handcrafted dragon puppet. The
Freedom to Marry Task Force, and PFLAG,
among others. .
The parade route ran along South
Union St. to College, down College for a
block, along South Winooski Avenue to

Cherry St., then down Church St., ending up
at the steps of City Hall, where the Kitchen
Sink Samba played their last piece and
Queerleaders danced until the speakout began,
led off by activist Peggy Luhrs. ~

The guest speakers brought many
interesting thingsito light. Their messages rang
throughout the street and were received by an
eager crowd.

A few words of the Speak Out could
even be heard inside City Hall where local and
queer organizations had set up stations.
Among them were the Unitarian Church,
Planned Parenthood, The Peace and Justice
Center, and Noah’s Arc, along with numerous
others. Each stand had either items for sale,
information pamphlets, or other give-aways.

For those with growling stomachs,
R.U.l .2? and Mountain Pride Media had a

barbecue from 12 to 4 with a grand variety of
food, including real meat and even veggie
meat, to choose from. The food was prepared
outside under a tent, and then transported
inside where there was a bustling but friendly
crowd, happily munching and chatting. There
were so many people, in fact, that some peo-
ple decided to sit out on the porch and wel-
comed those coming later.

Pearls had a fabulous gallery show-
ing 30 artists from 3-7 pm. The entire down-
stairs was covered in marvelous works of cre-
ativity, some sold for a price. There were oils,
pencil, ink, and even a movie! Included in the
show was a film fest, drawing many
observers.

Over 200 people, bringing in $850
for Outright Vermont, came to see the Second
Annual Vermont Drag Idol Show and Contest

I'IeWS

  Vermont Pride Shines Through

to see its contestants perform from 7 to 9.
There were ten amazing participants including
runners up Mario Brothers and Skippy. But
Momma Morton came in first place, winning
$50 cash, a gift certificate to Old Gold, and a
trophy.

The festivities went out with a bang
at I35 Pearls where everyone over 2] attended
the big Pride Party.

Pride Committee treasurer Hannah
Hauser estimated attendance at 1500 for all
venues, a figure which does not take into
account people visiting multiple venues or
events. V

Gabreille Celeste will be a freshman at BHS.
She lives in the New North End with her moth-
er and two guinea pigs.

Leahy Reintroduces Gay Partners
Immigration Act

BY PAUL OLSEN

The immigration of international
partners of gay and lesbian
Americans will be eased if legislation
recently reintroduced in the United
States" Senate by Vermont Sen. Patrick
Leahy (D) becomes law.

That’s good news for Tom, a
teacher in Burlington, who would con-
sider having his Canadian partner of
seven years immigrate to the United
States. “It would be nice to have the
option,” Torn told OITM. “It’s about
time especially now that democracies
like Canada, Spain, Belgium, and the
Netherlands have recognized that [mar-
riage] rights and freedoms should be
extended to gay people. When is the
United States going to wake up?”

By adding “permanent part-
ner” to the federal Immigration and

Nationality Act, the Uniting American
Families Act (S.1278) would treat

same-sex domestic partners the same as

heterosexual spouses for purposes of
immigration rights and benefits.

Tom sees passage of Leahy’s
bill as an‘ important step in the struggle
for gay equality especially since
Canadian law would recognize his rela-
tionship for immigration purposes.
“The way that the laws are implement-
ed now - that would block immigration
of my partner to the United States,
whereas moving to Canada is an option
- has caused us a great deal of concern
and disappointment toward the policies
of the US government,” Tom said. “It is
something that should happen in spite
of the rhetoric about defending mar-
riage.” ~ »
Leahy said he introduced the
Uniting American Families Act to help
gay and lesbian families. “I have heard

from gay and lesbian Americans
throughout the United States about the »
unfairness of our immigration lawsin
the effect those laws have had on their
loved ones,” he said in an email to

OIT M. “They simply want their loved
ones to have the same opportunities
under our family immigration system

as the loved ones of other Americans.”

A draft of the Uniting
American Families Act, formerly
known as the Permanent Partners
Immigration Act, says it is designed to
“provide a mechanism for United
States citizens and lawful permanent
residents to sponsor their permanent
partners for residence in the United
States, and for other purposes.”

The bill defines permanent
partner as an individual who is 18 years
or older, unmarried, and in a financially
interdependent, committed, lifelong
intimate relationship with another indi-

vidual 18 years or older.

In addition to Leahy, the bill
is cosponsored by a number of New
England senators including Lincoln
Chafee (RI), Edward Kennedy (MA),
and James Jeffords (VT). A version of
the bill introduced In the US House of
Representatives has 57 cosponsors
including Barney Frank (MA), Michael
Michaud (ME), Bernard Sanders (VT),
and Rob Simmons (CT).

Representatives of the
National Center for Lesbian Rights
(NCLR), a San Francisco-based gay
advocacy group, praised Leahy’s rein-
troduction of the Uniting American
Families Act. ,

“Over the last 28 years,
NCLR has seen countless families sep-
arated by immigration laws that cruelly
exclude same-sex, couples from any
recognition or protection, no matter
how committed their relationship or
how long a couple has been together,“
said Lena Ayoub, NCLR’s Staff
Attorney. “The Uniting American
Families Act allows bi-national couples
to remain together without fear of sepa-
ration or deportation.”

The Washington DC-based
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) also
supports the bill. According to the
HRC, fifteen countries - including
Canada, Denmark, Israel, South Africa,
France, and the United Kingdom - rec-
ognize same-sex couples when it comes
to immigration policy.

At this point, Leahy is not
optimistic the United States will
become the sixteenth country to recog-
nize gay partners. “Unfortunately, few
Republicans have supported our legis-
lation so far. Since Republicans are in
the majority in the House and Senate, it
will be difficult to pass this bill until *
enough Republican Members of
Congress come to understand the
unfairness of our current system." V
Paul Olsen lives and works in
Colchester and also writes for the
Boston-based gay paper In
Newsweekly.

Lars Hits 1000: uni
Finishes Tour

Washington, DC — Cracked
cranks, a split seat, and a bro-
ken post could not stop Lutheran pas-
tor Lars Claussen from unicycling
1000 miles on his “Straight into Gay
America” tour.

The minister completed his
tour in Baltimore, MD on July 19,
when he boarded a plane to fly home
to Washington state. His mission was
to discover what it’s like to be gay or
lesbian in America today. Claussen
wondered why so many straight peo-
ple were using religion to exclude les-
bians and gay men from equality, and
whether a straight, white Lutheran
pastor could act as a bridge from one
community to another.

He learned a lot on his
pedal from Burlington, Vermont, to

Baltimore, and so did those who fol-
lowed his journey in “tour updates”
posted on his web site
(StraightintogayAmerica.com).
Claussen stayed in the houses of peo-
ple he’d met online, people they knew,
others he met on the road, and occa-
sionally, when the web of acquaintanc-
es and friends failed, in" a hotel. He lis-
tened to stories: of gay and lesbian
civil unions in Vermont, of marriages
in Massachusetts, of neighbors who
objected or who didn’t care. The fur-
ther south Claussen rode, the harder it
became for him to be open about the

- purpose of his ride, and the more he

understood about anti-gay prejudice
and discrimination.

_ His ride took him to New
York City on Pride weekend, and he

cycling Pastor

rode in the parade: “My own place in
the parade is at the end of the
Religious and Spiritual Section.
Straight Into Gay America follows the
Queer Dharma Buddhist group, the St.

' Francis Xavier Catholic church, the

largest LGBT focused synagogue in
the world and dozens of other reli-
gious organizations that are reaping
the benefit of living out their faith tra-
dition’s calls to compassion.  I think
the beeline distance is something like
three miles. I take a queer route, cir-
cling and figure-eighting back and
forth, riding in place when the parade
stops.  By the end of the ride my
odometer tells me I’ve done a 12-mile
parade.”
Further south, in

Pennsylvania, the energy was a bit dif-

  

Pastor Lars Claussen

ferent: “Intercourse, Pennsylvania.
Amish Country. When I asked this
tourist what he thought of gay rights,
he shook his head, NO. But after a
moment, he told of having gay and
lesbian friends who were every bit as
‘I-

 

good as his other friends. And then
after I told about people I met in
Vermont who now have the right to
hospital visitation, inheritance, and
taxation equality, he nodded his head
once more, ‘Yes, everyone-should
have those equal rights.’

“I have yet to find a person
on this ride, no matter how vociferous-
ly they might believe homosexuality is
wrong, who doesn't also believe that
everyone is entitled to equal rights.”

As of the end of his ride,
finishing up at a Black gay conference
in Washington, DC, Lars Claussen had
ridden 1,024 miles on his unicycle
over 35 days through eight states. He’s
seen and felt the hate lgbt communi-
ties face. He’s gone beyond labels to
speak of equality and found a potential
bridge. And now he’s writing the
book. V