Volume III, Number 3

Out in the Mountains

VERMONT'S NEWSPAPER FOR LESBIANS AND GAY MEN

April 1988

S.278 Passes VT Senate: House Awaits

by Heather Wishik

On March 3 the Vermont Senate voted
19-11 in favor of S.278, the bill to prohibit
sexual orientation discrimination in Ver-
mont. The bill had a third reading vote in
the Senate the next day, and that vote was
17-12: Senator Douglas Baker was absent
for the second vote and Senator William
Doyle changed his vote from a yes to a no.

The bill must next be assigned to a
House committee, voted on by that com-
mittee, brought to the House floor, and
voted on by the full House. Public state-
ments by the House leadership the day after
the Senate vote indicated the bill would be
assigned to the House Judiciary Commit-
tee, which last year voted in favor of similar
legislation. Also, House Democratic Ma-
jority leader Paul Poirier indicated publicly
on March 4 that he felt the bill had a good
chance of passing in the House if the focus
remained upon the legislation as a civil
rights issue.

S.278 would prohibit sexual orienta-
tion discrimination in sales and rentals of
housing, public accomodations, public and

Welch Speaks Out for Lesbians and

On Wednesday, March 9, 1988, Presi-
dent Pro Tempore of the VT Senate Peter
Welch addressed the bi-weekly meeting of
the Unitarian/Universalists for Lesbian and
G3)’ Concerns (UULGC) in Burlington.
_His_talk followed close on the heels of the
invigorating victory of S-278 in the Senate,
abill strongly supported by Senator Welch.

_ In the course of his talk and the ques-
tions following it, the Senator discussed the
Passage of the bill and the politics and
strategies that will need to be followed as
the bill proceeds throught the Vermont
House. He expressed strong support for
lesbian and gay rights, although he con-
curred with the political decision to drop
two sections of the bill, those concerning
child custody and domestic abuse. The
Sénate Judiciary Committee’s decision to
eliminate these two areas from the

 

private employment, public accomoda-
tions, insurance and credit services. De-
spite objections from lobbyists for the gay
and lesbian community, the sections of the
bill relating to child custody in divorce and
to domestic violence protections were cut

Heather Wishik: Former caliason to Gov.
Kunin and staunch S ..278 advocate.

protections of the bill was a disappointment
to many of us, but the Senator’s arguments
were based on political concerns rather
than the merits of the clauses.

Perhaps more important to many of us,
and certainly to the Senator, was the fact
that the UULGC meeting provided the
Senator with an opportunity to address
lesbians and gays concerning our issues as
he launches his campaign for Congress.
Senator Welch is pursuing the berth soon to
be vacated by Representative James Jef-
fords. He promised to continue to support
gay and lesbian rights and the rights of
people with AIDS if he is elected to na-
tional office. In light of the conservative
trend of today, it is heartening to listen to
politicians who do not fear to take a stand
on controversial issues such as our human
rights.

 

from the bill by the Senate Judiciary Com-
mittee; an exemption for non-profit reli-
gious organizations which have a doctrinal
objection to employing persons due to their
sexual orientation was also added to the
private employment section by the Com-
mitee.

The debate of the bill on the Senate
floor beganwith Senator Chester Ketcham,
a Republican Senator from Addison
County, who reported the bill out for the

‘Judiciary Committee. In an eloquent ten

minute speech Ketcharn explained why he
had changed from opposition to support of
the legislation, and walked the Senate
through the sections of the bill. He quoted
the Vermont constitution in stating that he
had become persuaded at the hearing by
both proponents and opponents that sexual
orientation discrimination was a serious
problem in Vermont

In response to Senator Gilbert Go-
dnick of Rutland’s claim that if the bill
passed “people like that” would flock to

(Continued on page 5)

Gays

*:<;:

       
   

Peter Welch: Candidate for U .S . Rep.