Out in the Mountains

   

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Republicans and Gays-

 

Not Such Strange Bedfellows??

Democrats and gays and lesbians are

, increasingly recognizing in each other

something of value. Jesse J ackson’s open
embracing of gays and lesbians during his
1988 presidential campaign effort demon-
strated the importance he placed on what
was for him, a natural constituency. Last
year the Vermont Democratic Party took
the unprecedented step of adding support
for gay civil rights to their party platform.

During last fall’s congressional cam-
paign, after a picture of Peter Welch ad-
dressing a Burlington gay and lesbian
church group made the front page of Out in
the Mountains, fellow Democratic con-
tenders fought for time to address the same
group.

Certainly the steps toward accommo-
dation are tentative, but they are undeniable
and welcome. A danger we see in all this,
however, is that civil rights for gays is
increasingly becoming a Democrat’s issue,
one that Republicans might feel comfort-
able in dismissing.

A National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force survey last year showed gays and
lesbians overwhelmingly identify as
Democrats. We can think of many reasons
why this is so, not the least being the wel-
come extended to us from progressives in‘
the party. We realize, however, legislation
will not pass without bi-partisan support,
either locally or nationally. And we cannot
let a civil ri hts be debated as a artisan

   

      

Dear OITM;

I was very excited when a friend told
me about your publication. I have been
reading similar magazines such as the
Advocate and a couple of others dealing
with the New England area, but there usu-
ally isn’t much in them dealing with Ver-
mont.

The February 1989 issue is the first
I’ve read and I am very excited about it. If
possible, I would be very interested in help-
ing out with the making of the newspaper.
I am sending along my check for a one years
subscription plus an additional donation of
$50.00.

Although I am not able to get over to
Burlington except once in a while on a
weekend, perhaps there is some other way
I could help with the newspaper. I do have
a home computer along with various soft-
ware packages and telecommunication
capabilities. Please let me know if I can

help out in any way. Thanks for the geat

issue. Party affiliations aside, our casemusr \
be made on civil rights grounds, which are 
not the moral province of either party.
There is nothing in the Vermont Re.
publican tradition which is antitheticalto -
gay civil rights. In fact just the opposite is 
true. Vermont gays and lesbians have
found a wonderful friend in Representative
Vi Luginbuhl, a Republican, who has cho-
sen to spearhead the fight for gay civil
rights in the House of Representatives. Her
philosophy of “great respect for pcopleto
be what they want to be, and do what they
want to do” leads her logically to sponsor
our legislation. Andy Christiansen, a
Democrat, makes his case to his critics even
more succintly with an age old maxim, l
“Respect the land, and what your neighbors -
do is their own business.” l.
The far right positions taken by Sena- ,
tor John McClaughry and his fellow con- 1
servatives are not Republican in any tradi- ,
tional fiscal or social sense—- and they no
more reflect the will of moderate Vermont
Republicans than do Ronald Reagan’s I
Christian soldiers nationally. As legisla-
tors, they must be exposed for what they
are, a splinter organization with a danger-
ous and intolerant agenda.
We must not concede the moderate
Republicans of this state to the fundamen-
talists. Support for gay rights should bea
litmus test not for a good Democrat, butfor
a well—educ ' ' '

 

 

newspaper..
Sincerely,
Tim Wilbur
Dear OITM,
Thanks so much for being here.
Anonymous donator from Putney,VT-

To whomever:
“She left me--not for another butbt
cause the ‘me’ she loved wasn’t willingtfl
take on another of society’s labels. Its truc-
you can love--really love someone, and
their spirit is sexless... You would 10“-
them whether they be man or woman.Wi
stifle each other by needing labels."
Euan Bear's article (Jan. OITM I939) 1
was an affirmation that bridge building)‘
needed everywhere—— to support p60P1°"'
letting their love flow- in whatever f0ll“;
they choose. I
Thanx Bear. '
Kim

(Continued on  ~