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Volume III, Number 1

ut in the Mountains

VERMONT'S NEWSPAPER FOR LESBIANS AND GAY MEN

Special Anniversary Issue

 

February 1988

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1988

 

Hall of Fame ..... .. page 8
OITM Memories ..page 9
Lobbying Info .... ..p 10,11
Fundraising Info.. page 9
Gay Pride Survey .... ..p 5

  
 

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Gay ‘Community News

Responding with fury over the Senate’s
failure to pass the state’s gay rights bill,
about 400 lesbians, gay men and support-
ers, organized through MASS ACT OUT,
flooded theState House and disrupted pro-
ceedings for several hours on Jan 4. 14
people, including 8 who handcuffed them-
selves to chairs in the Senate viewing gal-
lery, were arrested for trespassing in a
planned act of nonviolent civil disobedi-
ence that ignited the late afternoon demo.

Law enforcement authorities re-
sponded varyingly with smugness, silence,
hostility, and outright violence. Many of
the Capitol Police officers making arrests
were wearing gloves but not badges, justi-

    
        
  
     
  

  
 

Rights Bill Sent to Committee

S.278, a bill to ban discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation, was intro-
duced on January 11 into the Vermont
Senate with eleven co-sponsors, only five
votes short of the sixteen it needs to pass. It
was referred to the Senate Judiciary Com-
mittee for study.

Senator Harvey Carter, a Democrat
from Bennington county, submitted the
bill. According to Susan Aranoff, a mem-
ber of the Vermont Statewide Coalition for
Lesbians and Gay Men Steering Commit-
tee, it is highly doubtful the Judiciary
Committee will hold a large public hearing
similar to the one that took place last year in
the main chamber of the Statehouse. In
addition to time constraints, the Judiciary
Committee faces the formidable task of
overhauling the Vermont Criminal code.

Mary Just Skinner, chair of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, has pledged to bring
the bill out of her committee by the begin-
ning of February. According to Aranoff,
the Steering Committee is organizing a
telephone calling campaign to legislators to
coincide with the bill’s emergence from
committee. Patterned after the highly suc-

fying their anonymity on the “near-riot”
conditions that could result in badges being
used as weapons. In full view ofnews cam-
eras, State House officers pushed and
slapped protesters causing at least one
bloodied lip and a bruised ankle. A video
repeated several times on Boston news-
casts clearly showed a court officer stomp-
ing on the abdomen of a protester as he was
dragged out in arrest. Nine of the protesters
were released that night on $15 bail, while
five women who refused to cooperate with
the booking procedures were held over-
night in the Suffolk County Jail. All 14
pleaded not guilty to trespassing charges

   
 

cessful effort waged by right-wing funda-
mentalists last year, the calling campaign is
intended to demonstrate a concentrated
show of support for the bill.

The Steering Committee is made up of
representatives from the Statewide Coali-
tion, the ACLU, and interested legislators.
It is responsible for formulating the legisla-
tive strategy for the bill. Aranoff stressed
that membership is open to anyone inter-
ested in participating.

In addition to the eleven co-sponsors,
the Steering Committee has identified four
other legislators who have expressed tenta-
tive support for the legislation, bringing
supporters to within one vote necessary for
passage. In the event of a tie, the Lieutenant
Governor would cast the deciding vote.

The co-sponsors of the bill are Harvey
Carter (D Bennington), Seth Bongartz (D
Bennington), Sally Conrad (D Chittenden),
David Dean (D Windham), Phil Hoff (D
Chittenden), George Little (R Chittenden),
Scudder Parker (D Caledonia), Doug
Racine (D Chittenden), Peter Welch (D
Windsor), John Finn (D Franklin), and Will

Hunter (D Windsor).

Massa h setts Protesters Met with Violence

and were released on their personal recog-
nizance. The next court date has been set for
Feb. 18.

A fiery rally in support of lesbian/gay
rights continued inside the State House
after the arrests. Community spokes-
people shared a megaphone to lambaste
homophobia and the sluggish legislative
process that has stymied a Mass. gay rights
bill for 15 years. Drawing the rowdiest
applause, Boston ‘City Councilor David
Scondras praised the protesters for continu-
ing the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. by
demonstrating for civil rights.

(Continued on page 10)

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