APRIL 2006 I n,I,It|n_th,e,mnuntu|I,rs a ACTIVISM iknnirhflarufest at Visibility Day MONTPELIER — Morning came early for many students and or- ganizers attending Queer Visibil- ity Day at Verrnont’s statehouse last month. Groups traveled from as far away as New Hampshire, Brattleboro and Bennington to meet legislators, share inforrna- tion and to be recognized on the assembly floor. Student groups from Burlington and Montpelier were also represented. All told, younger people representing the LGBT community outnumbered their elders by a wide margin. The gay-straight alliance group from Bennington High School sported black sweatshirts printed with white, that read Rep. Helen Head of So. Burlington chats with organizers at the statehouse service organization that serves Sullivan and Grafton counties in New Hampshire and Orange and Windsor counties in Vermont. Connie Beal and Clark Shel- don from SafeSpace fielded ques- tions about upcoming events in April, and Nicole Lukas attended from the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Vermont. Lukas spoke brief- ly at a meeting of the groups, asking them questions. Kara DeLeonardis, executive director of Safespace, asked Rep. Bill Lippert if something could be done to stop Sweeney, but Lippert said there are no rules against picture—taking at the statehouse. Sweeney had planned a press conference at the statehouse, which was later cancelled. “I want to thank the young people for coming to this and wearing your wonderful-T—shirts you do a great job of representing us.” 4- ROBYN MAGUIRE, VERMONT FREEDOM TO MARRY TASK FORCE “Live to Love” on the front, and “Glow Up/Gay Lesbian or What- ever/United People” on the back. The students said their school board initially resisted the idea of the shirts, but they persisted and the board finally agreed. Representatives of several or- ganizations squeezed into a cor- ner room next to the statehouse cafeteria, offering free informa- tion to legislators, a few of whom stopped to chat. Some expressed dissatisfac- tion about the size of the room for organizers to set up displays, and ' about the small number of legis- lators who stopped to talk. Oth- ers were pleased at the chance to get to know eachother and to network. One organizer noted that many legislators were not at the statehouse that day because they were just coming back from a week’s break. _ Rep. Helen Head of South Bur- lington was one of the handful of legislators who stopped to talk as others filed into the cafeteria Rep. Bob Kiss, just days before elected mayor of Burlington, also Stopped to say hello. Rob Larabee of the Vermont Gay Men’s Chorus offered infor- mation about the group’s events, including their concert for legis- lators in late March. Paul Brogan, Acom’s execu- tive director and Jennifer Lupton, Vermont case manager for Acorn, were there representing the AIDS emphasizing that “queer youth areaffected at astoundingly high rates” of smoking, Mid—moming, groups and or- ganizers filled guest chairs at the front of the House chambers and lined part of the public seating in the back. Rep. Jason Lorber, one of several openly gay legislators, read a welcoming statement and recognized each LGBT group present by name. Legislators ap- plauded the groups as they stood to be recognized. Only one detractor appeared, taking pictures and a sign from the balcony A security officer took away the sign, which is against the rules on the assembly floor. Mike Sweeney, of Crown Point, New York, protested Vis- ibility Day because “I believe ho- mosexuality is a sin and is going to be the ruin of America, among other things,” he told OITM. He said he attends a weekly prayer meeting at the Maranatha Church in Williston and often comes to the statehouse. ‘ Shortly after the recogrition of Visibility Day on the floor, stu- dent groups and others gathered for a meeting with advisors. Lluvia Mulvaney-Stanak and Kate Jer- man, co-directors of Outright, ex- pressed concern for safety of the young people attending the event. Students said Sweeney followed them around the statehouse that morning, taking pictures, and that some young people with him were “This speaks to why we have to have this day,” said Robyn Maguire, field director for Ver- mont Freedom to Marry Task Force. “I want to thank the young people for coming to this and wearing your wonderful T-shirts you do a great job of repre- senting us," she said, adding their presence “countered this guy with his hateful message.” Organizers also discussed ways to gain equal rights through work- ing with elected representatives. Jerrnan noted thatthere is a lot of controversy about H.865, the Gender Identity Bill, and how its passage would affect schools. The ideathatmaleteacherswould then show up wearing dresses is used as a scare tactic, she said. A Burlington High School student. said school officials don’t know what nondiscrimination really means and that it isn’t WeH en- forced. Teachers need training, the student said. Virginia Renfrew, lobbyist for Equality Vermont, discussed the issues surrounding- how state education funds are to be spent, and the tobacco tax was 'also discussed. Mulvaney-Stan- ak said it’s especially important for citizens to bring issues to their legislators and tell them how they are personally affect- ed by state laws. “What really hits home is when they hear your messages,” she said. V POLITICS . Vermont House Passes Gender Identity Bill MONTPELIER — Vermont.’s l:r'1ns- gender citizens are one step closer to receiving equal treatment under the state’s laws. Legislators finally pushed the dusty Gender Iden- tity and Expression bill through on March 1st, passing easily on a voice vote after a year of sitting in the judicial committee. Prior to its passage, the bill was renamed and given a new number with added language re- garding people with disabilities. The former H.478, “Discrimina- tion on the Basis of Gender Iden- tity or Expression” was changed to H.865, “An Act Relating to Non- discrimination.” The added lan- guage has since been removed, leaving the act itself unchanged. Rep. Bill Lippert of Hinesburg introduced the bill to the floor of the House in late February. A small crowd of transgender citizens and their allies attended, with hopes that the bill would soon pass out of the House and on to the Sen- ate for consideration. The House passed the bill the following day. Lippert said while introducing the bill that it would “add clarity” to Vermont's laws, which already have gender identity included in classes protected under hate crimes law. People who are transgender are often targets of violence and discrimination, he said. One ex- ample occurred in 2003 in the town of Hardwick, where a police officer was treated in a discrimi- natory manner after his employ- ers learned of his earlier transition from female to male. The attorney general agreed with the officer that he was discriminated against, and a settlement was reached in- cluding a fine being paid and the town agreeing to training. Recently, the states of Wash- ington and Maine have added sim- ilar language to their laws, Lip- pert said. Now eight states plus 76 cities and -counties nationwide have included language in their laws outlawing such discrimina- tion, he said. Also, IBM, one of Verrnont’s largest employers, and 80 of the Fortune 500 companies have adopted similar antidiscrimina— tion policies, as have UVM and Middlebury College. “Some say we don’t need to do this,” Lippert said, “but if we're - able to make this clear it's an important thing for us to do.” Only one legislator spoke in opposition to the bill. Rtep. David A. Sunderland of Rul.land Town questioned the process by which the bill appeared on the floor and wanted to know if anyone had testified against. the bill. No one “Some say we don’t need to do this, but if We’re able to make this clear it’s an important thing for us to do.” — REP. BILL LIPPERT (HINESBURG-D) asked to testify against the bill when testimony was taken last March and April, Lippert said. Sunderland said someone had told another committee member they wanted to testify against the bill. No one asked to testify against the bill and no one was denied the opportunity to testify, Lippert said. “I was unaware of it until today," he said. Sunderland also wanted to know how long the committee debated the bill before bringing it to the floor, say- ing “we’ve talked a lot about open government” and expressed dis- satisfaction that the debate lasted a couple of hours. Sunderland asked for a roll call vote to have the matter recomrnit- ted to the judiciary committee. The House voted his proposal down, 39 to 90. The bill is now in the Senate, where a first reading of the bill was held March 3. V