Y

Kg?

REELAHIMIING OUR PRIDE
6 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

afraid t.o take a stance against the
illegal, immoral invasion and 0t‘-
cupation of Iraq l)(‘(‘Lll1SE‘ the in-
sider wisdom in Washington says
they can’t.

Guess what‘? Insider wisdom

I means to protect insiders. It is

its working. The rich are getting

‘richer; insider wisdom is about

preserving power for those who
have some. It’s not about libera-
tion. The Democrats are getting
more like the Republicans and the
LGBTQ movement with its roots
in women’s liberation and gay lib-
eration, a movement for sexual

' liberation, is becoming the mar-
" riage movement.

It is not that we shouldn’t have

equality in access to marriage with .
' its privileged status.

It’s the price of working to be
acceptable. Acceptable to whom?
Winning over your enemies isn't a

' bad idea. But if you sacrifice your

allies to acceptability it is both a
betrayal of the community and

' it makes the political mistake of

alienating the base.
Let us be proud to be part of a

‘ liberation movement that means

expanding our rights and the expan-
sion, of human rights for everyone

I including those in Islamic countries

who are murdered for being queer
or independent women.

We've been fighting for our
right to love. That's a much bigger
word than marriage.

' We can’t achieve liberation in a
corrupt culture of domination. Our

1 full acceptance is tied to our fully

:u'(-opting our responsibility to be
part ,ol' the human community by
working for peace and e.\'p:m<ling
human rights for all. I

This is the speech I gave on
Pride Day "2006. I want to cor-
rect the part that says “Like those
whose main goal is marriage want-
ing to keep the Queer Liberation
Army I'rom participating in a dem-
onstration for the. Gender Identity
Bill." I have subsequently been in-
formed that the QLA was not dis-
couraged from attending, but that
the entire TransAction group, not
just marriage advocates, wanted
to ensure QLA Cheerleaders were
not present because it was felt
that would _take the focus off of
Governor Douglass being the first
Vermont Governor to veto expand-
ing rights for Vermonters. WCAX
used this part of the speech to say
that there is a division in the com-
munity. This is the first time in 24
years that WCAX broadcast any
part of my speeches. So the media
likes to promote conflict. I think
we need a movement that appre-
ciates all the folks who contribute
to it. We should applaud anyone
or any group working to increase

ourrights. My main point here was -

to warn against the idea that any
group has the answer for all of us
and to call for a much broader and
braver response to the backlash
we have been suffering from for
so long now.V

Peggy Luhrs is a longtime
activist from Burlington.

morality and . . . bias against

,': homosexuals.” More good news.

July 12th provided more rea-
son for hope, and for indignation.

I 1 The Massachusetts Legislature ad-

 journed until November the con-
;stitutional convention regarding

..L a proposed amendment to write

discrimination in marriage into
that state’s constitution. Cooler

" heads prevailed. -
In the meantime, a trial court in

Connecticut was not so thought-

, _f111. The Superior Court judge up-

held that state’s refusa.1 to issue
marriage licenses to same-sex

» couples because that state’s “civil

union” law provided them with
the tangible state law benefits of
marriage. The trial court’s deci-
sion contradicted the conclusion
0f the Massachusetts Supreme
Court, which concluded in 2004
that relegating gay couples to
a separate category “civil
Union” is unconstitutional. The
Connecticut court dismissed the
official legal separation of gay and
Straight relationships as a matter
Of mere “rhetoric,” and concluded
that the institution of marriage no
1°“8€I‘ has social significance, so
83!’ couples weren’t missing any-
thing. The Connecticut plaintiffs
Will no doubt appeal.

V -. CLOUDS AND SILVER LININGS
} (- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

Vermont Freedom to Marry
Task Force Field Director Robyn
Maguire responded to the Cong
necticut and New York decisions
with ire.

“These decisions are a call
to action,” Maguire said. “We’re
long past the time when courts in
this country can trample the civil
rights of GLBT people on the ba-
sis of flimsy legal argument that
ignores the lives of real people
and the undisputed evidence from
impartial research."

Urging all Vermonters to join
the struggle; Maguire balanced
her reaction with hopefulness.

“The. question on the table is
not whether or not we all like
marriage; it's whether each and
every one of us - whether or not
we would choose to marry — will
continue to be excluded and
marginalized by Verrnont’s laws.
Vermonters, and Americans, are
fundamentally fair people. If we
do the work - if we organize, edu-
cate, and share our stories - they
will ultimately treat us fairly.” V

Beth Robinson was co-counsel
to the plaintiffs in Baker v. Ver-
mont and currently serves as
Chair of the Vermont Freedom
to Marry Task Force.

FIRST PE RSON
///M/wwflowwy/flflv/fl/yyflflflwww

Shirley

BY LYNN MARTIN

We were tenement, kids, Shirley and I.
We lived in a world of c0ncre.l.t‘,
narrow alleys, and no back yards.
What we had was imagination.

We replayed Saturday movies over and over.
Shirley was always a boy.

I was sometimes a boy, sometimes a girl.
We acted out Hollywood romances.

Shirley taught me how to kiss.

Now we knew enough not to do that

where our parents could see us.

We kissed under the bed.

I can still feel her arms around me

in that warm, dark space

far from adult eyes.

T hat was one of the monologues I did

as part of the recent production of

Gay & Grey: Conversations with Our
Elders. It was done to the music of Phoebe
Snow, singing “Teach Me Tonight.” Very sexy.
Never mind that it happened when I was ten
and I'm now seventy: For each performance I
conjured up both Shirley and I under that bed.

Fast forward to about twenty years ago.
I met someone who knew her, and got an

AUGUST 2001» l uu,t.;in.,Ihe-mttuntuirts Ia

     

///////////////////////////7

heard
her. No. In-

stant denial

set in. How could
she die’? She was my oldest

friend. I had to meet her again someday.

So I said something perfectly inane, like “oh,
I'm so sorry," and went on to talk of other
things. But she really was dying. In May, I
called her again. The phone was discon-

_nected. I called the police in the town where

she lived. They gave me the number of her
landlord. They confirmed it. Shirley had
died. I blew it. She had given me the chance
to say a proper goodbye, and I didn't do it.

It never getsany easier. Saying good-bye
is not a skill l’ve gotten better at through the ,
years. Death, for me, is always a one-time
thing. It is always painful. And, at least for

L me, always contains some form of “if only."

I know that lesbians in Asbury Park last
a good friend in Shirley Headman. I know
there was a memorial service. I know they

  
 
  

address. Iwrote. She wrote back. It didn't
surprise me that Shirley was lesbian also.
, “Where did you-. go when we were teens?” I
-asked,-«She went: to Greenwich Village. Shit» I
ley. might have been younger, but shewas
‘ . }a‘lw‘ays.‘way brighter than me. It t0,§k'vme,‘mote
 twenty years to follow her e:;ample.’I  I
. dldn.’t come out in Greenwich Village; but  ' 
‘ Q in Verrnont. Until May of this yeai;V;weric,on{, ‘ V I

    
   

all said good—bye. I know there had to be a
lot of laughter. Shirley was a great comedian.
, When we were kids she was always l.II\ll)3.tr'
ing Jonathon Winters. I know she was very ,
loyaland loving. Keeping in touch with me
was,‘I am sure, onlyone example of this. ’ V-
I. wanted to say. goodbye, Shirley. It will
truly miss you; You were my fln$tmen~ r ‘
' tor In love. Someday. I, follow you
 .3126: 1.1}°pefuj11r.} youctvill hold out your . I V ’
‘ V  rrie, andbe there to teach the g ,
about death. And this time, I will listen.V I“

MOOD AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS

(- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

and their accompanying recep-
tors. Useful therapies include
homeopathy, herbal remedies,
and nutritional supplements.

Specific amino acid supple-
ments provide the building blocks
to many neurotransmitters and
when used in appropriate dos-
ages provide symptom relief.
Combining arnino acids with
adrenal supportive and nourish-,
ing herbs, including ashwaganda
and oatstraw, provides deeper
healing. Repairing any under-
lying digestive disturbance is
crucial to treating depression
and substance abuse disorders.
Whole-body health requires
proper digestion and absorption.

Successful treatment requires V

an integrative approach using
psychotherapy, nutritional and
lifestyle counseling, improved
sleep and digestive health, and
neurotransmitter rebalancing.
Diet is crucial to one’s overall
health. Nutrients in food provide
the basic building blocks for
all facets of our body and our
health. Essential dietary changes
include decreasing or avoiding
caffeine, sugar, alcohol, simple
carbohydrates and sweets. With-
out proper nutrition, healthy
neurotransmitter levels cannot
be achieved or maintained.
Finally, in order to achieve
a true healing, the underlying
cause must be treated. This
cause may include deep emo-

tional trauma from childhood, a
more recent event, and traumas
associated with being gay in
our society. If not adequately
healed, the neurotransmitter
levels will likely become imbal-
anced again in the future.V

Dr. Renee Lang is a licensed
naturopathic physician practic-
ing at The Healing Way clinic

in Brattleboro. To learn more,
visit her’website at thehea|ing-
way.net or call 802-254-4369.

If you have a specific health
concern or issue that you
would like to see presented in
a future article, please email Dr.
Lang at dr.lang@thehealingwq.

net.