VERMONT'S NEWSPAPER For  |N and GAY MEN

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Vol. 1 No. 2

Outspoken

supporting

lesbian Euan Bear
after her debate with Sara Weddington. Sehlafly denied

having worked for Senator Joseph
capitol punishment.

Photo by Glenn Russell’

Schlafly meets a. lesbian

questions Phyllis Schlafly

McCarthy and denied
STORY ON P. 4.

Antibody discrimination

A hearing on House Bill 622, the
HTLV-3 antibody discrimination bill,
will be held on Thursday, March 13th,
at 7.30 pm at the State House in
Montpelier.

The hearing, a joint effort of the
State House and Senate Health and
Welfare Committees, will consist of
presentations by a panel of experts
followed by comments and questions
from legislators and the public.

It was unclear until late February
whether the House Health and Welfare
Committee would schedule hearings or
allow the bill to die without soliciting
outside testimony.

State Rep. K. Micque Glitman, the
bill's sponsor, credits ‘an effective and
“Did statewide grassroots lobbying
effort" with ‘putting the bill back on
the front burner.“ Glitman said that

'the flood of phone calls and letters
into Montpelier was the primary reason
that we were successful in getting a
public hearing scheduled, and proof of
the necessity of having a statewide
network to pass any legislation."

Terje Anderson, who is co-ordinating
lobbying on H. 622, said "the incredible
outpouring of support for the bill from
across the state points out exactly how
powerful constituent lobbying can be.”
He noted that ‘letters asking people to
contact their representatives went out
on a Friday and Saturday, and by 3
p.m. on Tuesday, we had the hearing
date and format set. It only happened
because so many people took a few
minutes to write or call. We impressed
Montpelier with the speed, depth and
geographical range of our response."

Glitman and Anderson both

V-.

It

March, 1986!
Lesbians meet,

{Mi-aison elected

girisixty Vermont lesbians met in South

Rbyalton on Sunday, February l6th.
Coming from as far away as
Burlington, Brattleboro and the

"Northeast Queendom", and coming from
diverse viewpoints, the group shared
and achieved several common goals.

The meeting finalized the selection
of a liaison from the lesbian
community to Governor Kunin‘s office.
Beth Dingman has been the acting
liaison since December and accepted the
unanimous decision that she become the
first official liaison. She can be
reached at 649-5297. in the event that
Beth is ever unavailable, Leslie Alicen,
456-8745, agreed to be our alternate
liaison.

Vermont gay men also choose
a liasonat Montpelier meeting.
,Story on p. 3.

After discussing if and how to
become organized as lesbians in
Vermont, two conclusions emerged. The
first was a definite desire to create a
statewide organization to fill the
vaccuum that currently exists. The
second was that it would take another
meeting to find a name, structure and

continued, page 8

hearing set

encouraged people to continue
contacting members of the legislature
on the bill, and to attend the March
13th hearing.

Anderson said he was certain that
the expert panel at the hearing "will go
a long way in helping legislators
understand that AIDS is not casually
transmitted, that the ELISA test is an
inappropriate basis for employment or
housing, that there are important civil
rights questions at stake, and that
protecting those rights is absolutely
consistent with protecting public
health."

For more information on the
hearing, up to date reports on the bill's
status, or to become involved with the
lobbying effort, contact Terje Anderson
at 862-5917.