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Clergy
Requirements:
Yes or No?

In “Moving Marriage Forward,"
March 11, you state, “The bill,
which would adjust Vermont’s
marriage law to be gender neu-
tral, also makes it clear that no
clergy would be required to sanc-
tion any same-sex marriage." This
is followed by a quote from Beth
Robinson,’who says, “We really
are saying churches are free to do
as they choose to do.”

I I can’t help but wonder, is cler-
gy required to sanction mixed-sex

"   marriages?

BILL DUBAY
, Seattle, WA

   

Thanks for your question. Clergy

I 5‘ ‘T ‘are not required to sanction

mixed-sex’ marriage, and the bill
pending in the Vermont Legisla-

ture makes it clear that same—sex
marriages are no different. The
suggestion that eliminating the
discrimination in civil marriage
would or could impinge upon the
rights of clergy who oppose mar-
riage equality is simply false.

BETH ROBINSON
Langrock Sperry & Wool, LLP
Middlebury, VT

Being Out

“To live is so startling it leaves
little time for anything else.”
— Emily Dickinson

._Iust,when I think I've got some
things figured out, something
comes along to challenge my
position. I thought I was pretty
comfortable with my lesbian
identity. I thought that working
that out was old hat; the agonies

WITT'5 E N D BY LEAH WITTENBERG

/

II" R  it i5! Send your letters to: edit
or Out in the Mountains, Bpox“1_ 122, Burlington‘, VT 05402

NW " ‘ ..¢Z.~a:£o.v;'».»».~\-- :‘  "

A   = ‘»'«rpR~.r2oo6s<1= 

Rx. .;.

 

of figuring it out and coming out
was all in the past. In Brattle-
boro, wherel live, I’m known as a
Lesbian poet. I was out to every-
one at the AIDS Project where I
worked for many years. All my
friends, both homo and hetero
know I’m lesbian. I thought that
what was ‘once the burning cen-
tral issue in my life, was now only

' one thing about a complex being -

known as me.
Then I stumbled upon a book
called “Never a Dull Moment:

0rse+ ROW or WADE.
W5 SINK or SWIM

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/ I 4'

Ahii-Abortion For-ces Make. Waves

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or@mountainpridemedia.org 
it
K

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Teaching and the Art of Perfor-
mance" by Jyl Lynn Felman. In
one of the classes Ms. Felman
teaches called “Harmonies and
Tensions, a Course on Blacks and
Jews,” a participant talks about
the Star of David she always
wore around her neck. She told
the class how, “depending on the
context - whether or not she felt
safe as aJew - she tucks her Jew-
ish star inside her clothes. . .or ,
tucks it out." This took my breath
away. Suddenly I was thinking
of the pink triangle I own. I don’t
wear it all the time. Could it be I
only wear it where I feel safe as
a lesbian? And, if so, where was
that? Definitely at poetry read-
ings where I can expect a primar-
ily lesbian turnout. Certainly at
AIDS events such as World AIDS
Day. Absolutely while participat-
ing in a Pride March.

But I don’t wear it to events
out of state that are not GLBTQ

friendly. Ihad to face the truth. I

don’t feel safe as an out lesbian
everywhere in this country. I

can see that the filtering down
from the fight for civil rights

via marriage has penetrated

my unconscious. I am aware,
how could I not be, of the many
people who simply hate us. This
is obvious at any open forum
that includes gay issues. Most
people are passionate, but polite
whichever side of the issues they
believe in. But there are those far
right people who rant and rave

I and condemn us all to hell. As a

rational being, I have been able to
ignore this knowing from whence
it came. But psychologically, it
has made me feel vulnerable and
endangered. Within me is a wom-
an who feels it necessary to look
over her shoulder on dark nights,
to be careful where she states her

views in unknown places, to seek
out allies and like-minded people
in order to stand tall.

I was with a group of wom-
en, all over 60 years old, this
weekend. I asked them when
and if they ever wore the pink
triangle. A woman who lived in
Montpelier and attended the open
meetings around civil unions
said most of those who testifled
were dignified and respectful,
but there were a handful full
of hatred. There are still some
Take Back Vermont signs‘ around
today. This obviously was a
source of wonder and fear. An-
other talked of being careful not
to self-identify while hiking the
I rmalachian Trail, because of the
two women who had been killed
while hiking it. Another talked
of feeling uneasy while touring
the southern states. One younger
friend talked of wearing a DYKE
sign, and wearing it everywhere
to face up to her fears. All wor-
ried about the constant attack
by right-wing Christians and the
Catholic Church.

Thinking about this has
made me aware that we who
identify as gay publicly have a
special joy in speaking up and
being visible. But I'm wonder-
ing about the psychological
price. Those who choose to
speak up and speak out, our
heroes, need a place to share
the emotions, both good and
bad, that are evoked by it. It’s a
dialogue we . l to include in
all our gatherings. We certainly
know what it has been like to be
invisible. Now we need to keep
talking about what it means to
be visible.

LYNN MARTIN
Brattleboro