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VERMONT’S ‘ NEWSPAPER

       

  

I Vol. 2, No. 2

announced the introduction of a Lesbia

 
   

Howard Russell of Vermont Coalition of Lesbians and Gay Men, Rep Micque
Glitman of Burlington primary sponsor of H-247, and Tim Mazur, ACLU lobbyist

a Anti-discrimination bill.

Lesbian ay
Anti-discrimination Bill Introduced

H.247, the lesbian/gay
anti-discrimination bill was introduced into
the Vermont state legislature on Tuesday,
Feb. 10. The bill, sponsored by Micque
Glitman of Burlington and eleven
co-sponsors, would add the phrase
"affectional or sexual orientation" to
current anti-discrimination statutes in
Vermont. It would include the areas of
employment, housing, insurance, child
custody, credit and public accommodations.

At a press conference following the
bill's introduction, Glitman said, "We are
starting on the final leg of civil rights
legislation... we are saying that we will no
longer allow some people to be treated as
second class citizens. We will no longer
allow discrimination."

Also at the press conference, Howard
Russell released preliminary results of a
survey conducted by Vermonters for

HAPPY PURIN

Lesbian and Gay Rights. Of the first 100
surveys received, 84% had experienced
some type of harassment, intimidation or
violence due to their sexual orientation.
Half of the respondents had experienced
some type of job discrimination related to
their sexual orientation. And, twenty
percent had been victims of some form of
housing discrimination.

Although this was not a scientific
survey, Russell commented, "these results
clearly indicate that discrimination towards

lesbians and gay men is pervasive in’-

Vermont and shows the need for legislative
action."

More complete results of this survey
will be released within the next couple of
weeks.

Tim Mazur, an ACLU lobbyist, also
took part in the press conference indicating
that this bill would be a top priority for
the Vermont ACLU.

 

March, 1987 I

HTLV-III Anti-discrimination
Bill Introduced

Legislation which would prohibit
discrimination on the basis of tests for
exposure to the virus which causes A.I.D.S.,
and which forbids mandatory testing, has
been introduced into the Vermont House
of Representatives and referred to the
Health and Welfare Committee.

House Bill 239, sponsored by Rep.
Micque Glitman of Burlington. has 37
co-sponsors, nearly one quarter of the
members of the House. The co-sponsors
represent 13 of the 14 counties in
Vermont, and cross party and ideological
lines.

Legislative supporters of the measure
are optimistic about the chances of passing
the legislation. Rep. Ben Truman. a
Burlington Democrat who sits on the
Health and Welfare Committee, is leading
the push for the bill on the committee.
He notes that eight of the eleven
committee members are co-sponsors.
"They'll want to look at some of the
details, and hear from experts, but I feel
very positive about our chances of reporting
it out of committee favorable," said
Truman.

Legislators say that the lobbying and
educational work done on a similar bill last
year helped pave the way for this year’s
bi“- continued, page 2

The bill (H.247) was assigned to the
Judiciary Committee where supporters hope
it will be given a fair and prompt hearing
People are encouraged to contact your
legislators and share your views on this bill.
Messages can be left for your legislators by
calling the Sargent at Arms at the
Statehouse (1-800-322-5616).

For more information on the current
status of this bill, call Howdy at 453-2218
or Susan at 234-9589.

[In addition to Micque Glitman,
co-sponsors of H.247 are Bassett of
Burlington, Burke of Putney, Christiansen
of East Montpelier, Harris of Windsor,
Hockert of Burlington. Lingelbach of
Thetford, Luginbuhl of South Burlington,
Martin of Middlebury, McCormack of
Rutland City, Truman of Burlington, and
Youngbaer of Plainfield.]