Out in the Mountains 1988 VERMONT'S NEWSPAPER FOR LESBIANS AND GAY MEN Volume III, Number 5 June 1988 Gala AID Benefit a Msical Treat Gov. Madeleine Kunin signs H.460 into law at the Gala Concert‘ in Burlington. David Neiweem conducts a 90 member joint chorus. (photos by Gillian Randall) by Maggie Hayes, Public Affairs Liaison, 1st U.U. Society of Burlington Fantastic! , Wonderful! , Outstanding! , and many other superlatives were heard many times over at the conclusion of “The Gala Concert: An AIDS Benefit,” on Fri- day, May 13th. Under the direction of David Neiweem, choir director of the 1st U.U. Society of Burlington, musicians from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, the Mozart Festival Orchestra, six area choirs, soloists Sylvia Hummel, Jill Levis, JoAnn Maguire, Denise Whittier, and Elizabeth Metcalfe and guest conductors Efrain Guigui and William Metcalfe per- formed with an extra special energy that brought the audience to its feet. The concert was developed to con- tinue the efforts of the 1st U.U. Society of Burlington to increase the public aware- (Continued on page 4) Yes, There Will Be A VT Pride Day '88 by Keith Goslant After a difficult start and conflicts with dates and location the planning for Pride Day ’88 is finally working out. Pride Day will be observed Saturday June llth on the lawn of the Statehouse in Montpelier. As I tell friends, last year we marched on Washington - this year we march on Montpelier! The theme for Pride Day ’88 is “Cele- brate” in acknowledgement of the achieve- fltents made by and within Vermont’s les- bian and gay community. There is a great deal we have achieved! For the second consecutive year we have opened our lives to public view and P{0V1_ded honest and direct testimony about discrimination before a Legislative Judici- 31)’ Committee. We have seen a sexual Orientationantidiscrimination bill pass the Senate on its first try! No other state has been able tonmake this claim. We have seen an antidiscrimination bill for persons with AIDS. ARC and who are seropositive M signed into law. This law is one of the best in the country. We have seen the insurance industry make concessions on underwrit- ing procedures and a public statement from Blue Cross/Blue Shield that they will not use HIV antibody testing to determine eli- gibility for health insurance. As a community, we are acknowl- edged as a unified and growing political force. All the candidates who spoke at the Democratic platform hearing in Randolph identified lesbian and gay rights as aprior- ity for their national platform. However, to continue this momentum we need‘ to be present in large numbers on June llth in Montpelier. We need to show the House of Representatives and the House leadership that although they may try to hide S-278 we intend to remain very visible and vocal. We will not go away and we want our full civil and human rights. You can help preserve this momentum by spreading the word about Pride Day through your individual community and personal networks. We are also asking the existing lesbian and gay community or- ganizations to select a spokesperson to speak on their behalf at Pride Day. If you would discuss this among your members and notify the Pride organizing committee via the Coalition mailing address or by calling me at 454-8552, it would be greatly appreciated. Outline for Pride Day Activities: - 11:00 am pre-march rally-Statehouse o12:0O pm march through Montpelier -1:00 pm post-march rally-Statehouse (Invited keynote speakers are Gov. Kunin, Sen. Harvey Carter & Heather Wishik) -4:00 pm conclusion of Statehouse rally 06:00 pm fihns at Pavillion Auditorium It is only through our combined efforts and continued visibility that we will grow as a community and political force. Pride Day is our time to stand together and have our voices heard. I hope to see you on June llth in Montpelier. I