established 1986 editorial D"‘ V , eja u All Over Again nother year, another legislative session begins. Another year, another opportunity to wonder if and when Vermont will finally go all the way to justice and inclusion for its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens, native and flatlander alike. _ There are likely to be two bills at the top of the lgbt fair- ness and justice agenda (we’re always accused of having an agenda,.so why not admit it?): H.478, the gender identity and expression nondiscrimination bill, and a yet-to—be—introduced marriage equality bill. Anyone else getting that déja vu feeling groups to decline to participate. And no, I’m not going to rehearse yet again all the reasons it should become law. . _ With marriage equality to the south in Massachusetts and - to our north in Canada, there is no reason for Vermont to oppose it here. We could be part of a greenbelt of equality amid a desert of denial. If the marriage—equality advocates really do keep their heads down until H.478 is passed out of committee, by the House as a whole, and by the Senate, their bill might not pass this session. In fact, former MassEquality campaign director Marty Rouse, who helped some legislators retain their seats in the Senate during the civil union backlash, said he thinks it won’t become law in Vermont until 2009. _ "But it’s a different Vermont now than it was six years ago. For evidence, look at the whole page of supportive letters that ‘were printed in the Burlington Free Press on December ll.A month V before, the daily had published a profile of gay high school soph- omore Connor McFadden. When a self-identified Christian . _wrote in to castigate the Free Press for publishing the story, the response from readers was, in the editors’ word, “huge,” and much of it was from allies outside our communities. That’s a very different reality than in the spring of 2000, yea How insecure are we in our own As readers of this paper and website know, H.478 is the third attempt in the last ; six or seven years to provide simple. pro- tections to one of the most blatantly dis- criminated—against minorities in Verrnontf transgendered people. They face harass- ment and violence in their homes, on the street, in classrooms, and in their work- or offer understanding to -others . -, different from ourselves? Passing p H.478 should be (as I wrote about »é'i')2 I places. They are refused routine and emer- gency medical care. Landlords deny them housing. Employers deny them jobs for which theyare qualified because they pres- ent themselves as a different gender than their identification documents or work histories specify, or fire them when they take steps to change their physical gender. How insecure are we in our own identities that we can’t encompass or offer understanding to others different from ourselves? Passing H.478 should be (as I wrote about another such bill nearly three years ago), _a no-brainer.» If Vermonters want to claim that we live in a state of fair- ness and justice for all, then it should no longer be legal in Vermont to discriminate against people on the basis of gender identity and expression. But it takes more than faimess and justice to pass legislation. As Jes Kraus, a transman who testi- fied last year in support of the bill, said last month, “We can blame Bill Lippert for not moving the bill, or Jim Douglas for imposing his agenda. But in the end we have to sit down and ' say, ‘Where do we go from here, and how do we get there?”’ How we get there is by calling our legislators, emailing them, or writing them letters. Even one constituent expressing support — or opposition — can influence a legislator’s vote. That’s not just an idealistic dream of democracy — it’s the voice of recent direct experience and one of the reasons that I live in Vermont. 1 And we Ls and Gs and Bs and Qs owe our support to the Ts in our communities. They’ve taken the heat for us, it’s time we stood up with them. ' As for the marriage-equality bill, I have been assured it will be introduced early in the session. But the bill’s advo- cates didn’t want to go on the record about it in order to pre- vent any buzz from overshadowing the hoped-for progress of _ the gender identity bill. So yes, marriage is on the agenda. And yes, we’re still talking about civil marriage with ample provision for religious years ago), a no-brainer. when an Outright Vermont volunteer wearing a security uni- form came to sit outside the agency’s doorway with a big dog because two men had threatened an Outright Vista worker with a gun. - We may finally have healed enough from the frightened attacks of some of our neighbors and shared enough of our lives to look upiiagain, to carry more of our neighbors .along with us into a future of full inclusion. That makes 2006 a year to look forward to, a year when full equality may finally come to the Green Mountains. V Euan Bear, Editor Note: Our next print issue - the beginning ofour 21st year — will look different, thanks to art director DonEggert’snewvision.AnditwIIlbemyiastissue as editor. We are still looking for your memories and thoughtsabouthow Oniiflhasplayeda partln your life, whether Itwas afiinning. boring. special, lnfom1a- tive,broughtyououtoftheciosetormadeyouwant tostayin,cheeredyouup,broughtyoudown.ormade youmad.orsomethingelseatvariousilmes.Please sendyourbrlefihoughtsendmemorlesto editor@mountalnpridemedia.org.Wewiiipubilshaseiec-' iionittiienextissuemndperliapsthrouyiouttiueyear.