VERMONT’S VOICE FOR THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS COMMUNITY SINCE 1985 EDITOR Lynn McNicoI - editor@mountainpridemedia.org ART DIRECTOR Don Eggert don@mountainpridemedia.org CLASSIFIEDS Michel DuBois classifieds@mountainpridemedia.org CALENDAR Dan Brink calendar@mountainpridemedia.org sounce EDITOR Michel DuBois source@mountainpridemedia.org CONTRIBUTORS: Christopher Kaufman, Cynthia Potts, Shawn Lipenski, Leah Wittenberg, Dr. G. Penny Nixon, Deb Price, Rev. Sarah Flynn, Kevin Isom, Lee Lynch, Jacob Anderson-Minshall, Tori Nado, Judy Murphy, . Will Holden, Peggy Luhrs, Merle Exit, Glen Hanson and Allan Neuwirth, Robert Kirby, Alison Bechdel, and Stuart Granoff. PHOTOS: 1A (cover) Donna Iverson: 1 and 2, Lynn McNicol; 15, 17, Don Eggert, Adam Cooper Wood and Josh Lunetta. AD MANAGER Michel DuBois ads@mountainpridemedia.org NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Marketing Co., |nc._(212) 242-6863 MOUNTAIN PRIDE MEDIA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Brian Cote, Shawn May, Greg Weaver STATEMENT OF PURPOSE The purpose of Out In The Mountains [OITM] is to serve as a voice for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people, and our supporters in Vermont. We wish the newspaper to be a source of information, insight, and affirmation. We also see OITM as a vehicle for the celebration of the culture and diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities here in Vermont and elsewhere. EDITORIAL POLICY We will consider for publication any material that broadens our understanding of our lifestyles and of each other. Views and opinions appearing in the paper do not necessarily represent those of Out In The Mountains. This paper, as a non-profit organization, cannot and will not endorse any political candidates. We reserve the right not to publish any material deemed to be overtly racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, ageist, classist, xenophobic, or homophobic. Unless otherwise specified, all submissions of articles, photographs, graphics, and advertisements herein are the property of Mountain Pride Media, Inc. and any re-publication or broadcast without written permission is prohibited. We are not responsible for the return of unsolicited materials. All contributions are donated to Mountain Pride Media, inc. for our use including, but not limited to, publishing in print and electronic (Internet, Web, etc.) versions, advertising, marketing, and archival purposes with appropriate attribution to the original author. No assumption should be made about the gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation of any contributor or any person named in these pages. OITM is not responsible beyond the printing of corrections for errorsin any submitted materials. OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS (ISSN 1081-5562) is published on the last Wednesday of each month by Mountain Pride Media, Inc. It is printed by BD Press of,Fairfax, VT. The paper maintains offices at 34 Elmwood Ave in Burlington, Vermont. The bulk mail subscription rate is $29 per year within the USA. WWW.MOUNTA|NPRlDEMEDlA.ORG is updated to include the current issue of OITM, generally by the 10th of each month, in our online archive. OITM is available in alternative formats upon request. OITM is printed on recycled newsprint containing 30% post—consumer and using 100% soy-based inks. PO BOX 1122, Burlington VT 05402 802.861.6486 802.860.0705 (f) editor@mountainpridemedia.org www.mountainpridemedia.org © 2006, Out In The Mountains, All Rights Reserved Act Now T he sun is shining a little more brightly in Montpelier these days for the LGBT community. The Gender Identity bill has been res- urrected with the hope that this year it will become law, and the Freedom to Many Task Force has decided this is the right time to put marriage equal- ity on the table. Both proposals will help push LGBT equality forward, and we are fortunate to have many allies — both elected and in our communities. So this is the time to act, rather than sit back and think our work is done. Living in the Green Mountain state, we experience kinder treatment, on the whole, than our sisters and broth- ers living elsewhere in this country and around the world. But in this time of repressive politics, even here in Vermont we face some efforts to push us backwards. In Burlington, police, merchants and City Hall recently had to back down from a measure that would have put certain sections of downtown off-lirnits to political demonstrations. The huge public outcry forced the city to step back. However, the merchants _ have already succeeded in creating a system full of restrictions for activists setting up tables on Church Street. Cur- rently, sharing irrfonnation there already requires gettingipermission to set up a. table in a specific spot during limited hours to converse with the public, get petitions signed, and so forth. And get this — people planning to table on Church Street must also show an ID for the privilege. That's some free speech. In Burlington’s Old North End, the school administrations efforts to close 91' II lwas , Soon, I Mean! ll\~’- ~~ mwde rev‘ moises‘. “Si in ‘tie he waif» aw vwa is '\s€mA., ll c..it"3‘.a ms; or;'.i5I1\9ov'3. use Dow wam;- * jctrinkimai’: avourul ’ here have no _ .. aw*At>‘r§iov\ * two neighborhood schools have been stymied for the second time. The el- ementary schools serve families who are middle and low-income, immigrants, people of color, social activists, and LGBT citizens. The strength of these communities became evident when people petitioned for their schools to remain open — and won. These schools are an integral part of the O.N.E. neighborhood, providing meaningful programs and assistance to pupils and families alike. They are a kind of glue binding the community together. Will school officials try a third time to close them down? ~ At the Congressional level, Ver'mont— ers are represented by three of the most progressive politicians on Capitol Hill. Sen. Patrick Leahy, often hailed by the liberal crowd, was nonetheless one of the principal authors of the infamous Patriot Act. Since its passage in 2001, civil rights advocates have spoken out, warning us about the far-reaching law that threatens many rights we have long taken for granted. Now that portions of the law are up for renewal, Leahy says it should be changed to protect our rights. But it may be too little and too late. While these laws may not be written specifically against certain classes of people, we would do well to be vigilant. The fact that the Bush white house, with its right-wing “Christian” agenda, is so willing to use us as a politi- cal wedge.tq,,d.riMe.pegple apartmrght tog,“ be enough to get us all busy working to stop them in their tracks. Still, alongside the defeats there are the_measures moving us forward. At press time, the Vermont legislature is also considering a bill (H.615) that will affect just how open our state govern- ment will be. It appears that again, Vermonters will benefit fiom the vision of our state legislators and we will continue to have access to important records being deliberated by state agen- cies. The problem is that there was ever a question about those records being open to the public. So, there is much that we can do. Supporting progressive legislation such as the Gender Identity and Marriage Eq-‘ uity bills always moves us forward, and elected officials need to hear from us about what we support and don't sup- port. We can help elect fair leaders at all levels of government. We can attend town meeting on March 7 and vote for who we feel best represents our inter- ests. We can run for office ourselves, at all levels of government, and we can run for our local school board. The more our voices are heard, the more people get to know who we are, that we are really just people, just like. them. Sometimes we are better, because we have to be. Sometimes we fail, just like everyone else. We are all the same, all members of the human family, and we deserve to be treatedas if we are. MARCH OFTEN ARRIVES WITH surprisessuch-as blustery snowstorms v and unexpected warm spells. The month that announces Spring also ”" '-" brings us National LGBT Health Week. It's a good time to be reminded that our community is faced plenty of " health challenges, even moreso than v._U~ t‘h‘é ’g'e‘r’1iéi'1‘al"p'o'p'rilaitibfrl '6fttiiiate‘Iy ' we have resources available to us in our quest for a healthier lifestyle. Check out our Health Beat page for events in Burlington, and links to events elsewhere. LYNN MCNICOL Editor doing watt Ila , WOVl