VERMONT’S NEWSPAPER for LESBIANS and GAY MEN

 

I Vol. 1 No. 3

VLGR sponsors

October 1986 i

Discrimination/Harrassrnent Survey

Being an "invisible minority" at one
time protected the lesbian and gay
community from oppression. Today,
many would argue, it contributes to our
oppression. With only estimates to go
on, government and private agencies
frequently Care unaware of the size,
diversity, and needs of the lesbian/gay
community.

The following questionnaire,
sponsored by VERMONTERS FOR
LESBIAN AND GAY RIGHTS (VLGR),
and with input from the NATIONAL
LESBIAN/GAY TASK FORCE, begins
the process of sketching in the features
of the lesbian/gay community in
Vermont. The information provided
will enable the community to make a
better case in the struggle for
protective legislation, private funding

Civil Rights
Commission _
Withdraws invitation
_ In an unprecedented move, the
Vermont Advisory Committee to the U.
S. Commission on Civil Rights
withdrew an invitation to attorney
Heather Wishik to provide the keynote
speech at a factfinding conference in

early September.

According to a letter received by
Wishik from the New England regional
office of the Civil Rights Commission,
seven of the eight members of the
Vermont advisory panel asked that her
invitation be rescinded.

"Reason given was a shared
perception that your alleged ‘radical
feminism‘ might render scholarly
detachment sufficiently difficult as to
elicit distracting and inappropriate
responses from participants and
members of the audience."

Wishik did take part in a panel
discussion on sex discrimination and at
the end of her discussion read aloud
‘the letter she had received withdrawing
the invitation. ‘I fear that the message
carried to Vermonters by your actions
regarding me is that women who speak
publicly about women's rights’ are not
Worthy of professional respect, are
'“DDity,' are too 'radical."'

and support.

Is discrimination against lesbians,
and gay men in Vermont a myth? We
don’t think so!! But unless we can
tackle the enormous task of
documenting discrimination in Vermont,
we will not be able to show our elected
officials the need for laws in Vermont
which would prohibit such
discrimination.

As lesbians and gay men, we are
the only ones ‘who can demonstrate the
need for legislation that will protect
our rights. This is the purpose of
VLGR's Discrimination/Harassment
Documentation Project. Just as every
lesbian and gay man has a state in a
statewide lesbian/gay civil rights bill,
every lesbian and gay man has a stake
in this survey.

Republicans drop
ERA from platform

After a stormy debate at the
statewide conference, Vermont State
Republican leaders decided to drop
support for the proposed. state Equal
Rights Amendment from their party's
platform. Instead they approved an
alternate statement which has two
major differences from the ERA. The
first was the use of the words “equal
protection" instead of "equal rights.‘

Kenneth Holland, chairperson ol'
the Vermont panel, said the invitation
was withdrawn not because of Wishik’s
political views but because she wasn't
felt to be the best choice for a keynote
speaker. However, he went on to say
that an article she wrote for Out in
the Mountains asserting that the ERA
could be used in securing certain rights
for gay people was part of the
discussion in deciding to withdraw the
invitation.

‘It was certainly brought up, but it
didn't sway the majority of the
commission,‘ he said.

However, he offered no other
explanation as to why the invitation
was rescinded.

This survey IS being conducted in a
manner that respects and ensures the
STRICTEST CONFIDENTIALITY of
the individual respondents. Naturally,
its success depends upon its widespread
distribution to the lesbian/gay citizens
throughout Vermont. If you have
already completed and returned a
survey, pass one on to a friend. The
more respondents we have, the stronger
our case before the Vermont state
legislature will be. We seek full
representation of the community.
THANK YOU!

Should you wish additional copies
of this survey or wish further
information, please contact VLGR;
Discrimination/Harassment
Documentation Project; Box 28l;
Hinesburg, VT 0546l.

Proponents of the revised statement
argued that "equal rights‘ was a
nebulous concept whereas ‘equal
protection‘ was somehow more clear.

The second major change was
replacing the word ‘sex’ with "gender."
The reason for making that switch,
according to supporters, was to make it
clear that the party platform does not
include support of gay rights.

According to Frank Cutler of
Bridgeport a Republican who attended
the conference. "The only people who
will profit from (the ERA's) passage
are the homosexuals and lesbians.‘ We
can only assume that this was not a
statement in support of the ERA.

It should be noted that the four
main candidates of the Republican
Party in this election (Snelling,
Jeffords, Smith and Auld) all are
supporters of the State ERA. It is the
party that they represent which has
gone on record as refusing to support
it.
00000OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The staff of Out in the Mountains
wishes its Jewish readers, and the
lovers and friends who celebrate with
them, a sweet and good new year.
L'shana tova!