2 out in the mnuntnins l MAY 2oo¢ I MOUNTA|NPRlDEMEDIA.ORG L .g‘drownged»out_ __ small, but vocal and well- rtded minority that are using tire‘ and polarizing atmosphere 1‘ exclusion," said the Rev. Eric ongregational United. Church Christ and co~presi_dent of rosswalk America. ‘ ., CrossWalk'affirms_ openness to other faiths, caring for the - including God's LGBT commu- ; nity," and—’opposes_ thecommin’-r “gling :_of chpurchand state. ’ , Hr.Nrrrc}.N :9 ff. ~' .,W \~ The Global GLBT ev§§$i,_. '4/1 weeklong event tobe heldihere .7-lar'ge»pj_art ' ithin America to create a clivl~ , nes, senior pastor of Scottsdale arth, inclusiv'eness’of all people, . 7 l§:.:D:.,=Won.9 b9] 1 , T lntemational ,EquaEity: Dirineir On. -Mayeth- M ALANYA, TURKEY i ll ' Gay Bar image 1 V Spoiler T g ’ 5 ’ Conflict over the proposed I ' opening, of a gay bar emerged : in the resort town qf;soLIl;.l'_1erl'},f Antatya city,,isaid,‘Kaos‘ ‘ GLBT organ_izati_on. recognized by ' ~ the gove'rnme'n’c.'Kernalj l§acma_z,,v T im than‘ 13000 federal, "L . T T other taxpayers trareentitlédi‘ r to," Congressman Nadler. ~ I quoted in’ Echelon. Magazine. — » T “The Equal Access to Social 'gSecuri'ty Act addresses’ this G inequity. Ultimately,‘ the onlylway‘f same-sex couples will betreated equally is when theysare allowed to marr‘ reality sex c sho fair -3» MORE REST or owe worm: on PAGE 4 __ . to make federal law_ , he said. - » l, a. 1? Justice. 8: gut until th‘a'l:’c‘an be a he millions of same- 5 in this country; we Vermnnt "El-"5 PHILANTHROPY Volunteer Hours RANDOLPH — Local GLBT leaders are launching the Gay & Lesbian Fund of Vermont this month to highlight the generosity of the GLBT community. The Fund also boasts a volunteer component, “Out for Good," that will enhance the visibility of GLBT work done in the larger community. Bennett Law, a former chair of Mountain Pride Media, said he still sees “Take Back Vermont” signs in Bethel where he lives with his pariner Tom. He started thinking that people putting up these signs may think that the GLBT community “wants some- thing” from the larger commu- nity, which in this case was the right to many, or alternatively, ~ civil unions. Perhaps the larger commu- nity feels that something is being taken from them, Law reasoned. If so, why not demonstrate what the GLBT community is already giving to the community, both in terms of financial support as well as time and energy? ' “We give to the hospital, am- bulance, and Vermont Public Ra- dio," Law said of himself and his partner. “Alone it may not mean much," he said, but if all contribu- tions from the GLBT community were packaged together, it would be a way for the community to be acknowledged. So that’s what Law and Susan Murray, one of two attorneys who filed Baker v. State, the lawsuit that eventually led to Vermont’s civil union law, decided to do. They plan to combine the gifts of GLBT donors for each charity or other organization, and send that larger donation to the organiza- tion under the name of the Gay & Lesbian Frmd. During the debates in the leg- islature regarding the right to marry, donations were received from Vermont and around the world, “bundled,” and given to legislators through the Vermont Fund for Families (VFFF), a po- litical action committee formed to elect candidates who sup- port equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians. Sending the donations together sent a very powerful message to legislators, Murray said. If individuals had sent their contributions instead, the donations wouldn't have had nearly the impact. “It made a Susan Murray and Bennett Law Fund to Earmark Gay Money, PHOTO: LYNN MCNICOL “We’re incredibly activeiin the larger community. It would be nice to be recognized for it.” huge difference in how the can- didates perceived us, in terms of our strength, influence, ability to raise money and turn out volun- teers, etc. Huge.” The Fund Will charge $5 for every check written, which will be used to cover the costs of the Fund, but is not expected to make any money beyond ex- penses. The entireiamount of a person’s contribution, including the $5 fee, will be tax—deductib1e under the 501(c)3 program, Mur- ray said. People will be shocked at the amount given by GLBT donors, Law said If donors come together under the Gay & Lesbian Frmd ban- ner, they can make a much bigger donation to say, the Flynn Theater, hospital or other organization. The volunteer portion of the Gay & Lesbian Rind has its origins in a group of GLBT vol- unteers organized to help raise funds for Vermont Public Radio in past years. Barb Dozetos, a past editor of OITM, organized the volunteers under the name “Out for Good" for the VPR drive, and decided that it would be a good name to_ use for volunteers within the Gay & Lesbian Fund. Dozetos said that GLBT,vol- unteers put in many hours help- ing people in a number of com- munity organizations. BARB DOZETOS “We're incredibly active in the larger community," Dozetos said. “It would be nice to be recog- nized for it." Plans for the volunteers in- clude wearing “Out for Good” T-shirts wherever they volun- teer their time. By wearing the . T-shirts, the program will dem- onstrate to the larger community that GLBT volunteers help the community in many Ways. “This feels like a really good thing for a maturing commu- nity to do,” Dozetos said. “The world would be a much, much sadder place,” she said, ‘with- out the' contributions of the gay community. The Gay & Lesbian Fund board members also include Carrie Rampp, also a past chair of Mountain Pride Media; Da- vid Hooks, forrner director and chair of Vermont CARES; Tom, Bivins, former chair of the Ver- mont Chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food; Heidi Schueger, retired from the U.S. military — including service in Iraq — and now employed by Middle- bury College; and Jan Blanchard, a volunteer with Habitat for Hu- manity. Organizers will have more in- fomiation about the Fund avail- able at the R.U.1.2‘? dinner in Burlington on May l3th.V