Out in the Mountains

. 4

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Compare Allstate rates.

Ellen Hetherington
863-3808

/Illstatee

Allstate Insurance Company, Northbrook, IL

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The bill would provide stiffer sentenc-
ing for crimes motivated by hate toward a
person on the basis of their gender, race,
religion, ethnic background, handicap, age,
or sexual orientation. Judge Frank Mahady
testified, admitting that while of course a
new law will not change individual atti-
tudes and behavior, the govemment’s role
is to be the great teacher, and by passing or
not passing the bill, they would be sending
a lesson to the public about what is or is not
acceptable behavior. It was a moving eve-
ning with many aniculate arguments in
favor of the bill and only feeble, hateful,
and ignorant arguments against it, as usual.

A piece of testimony that stood out
among the others is the one I mentioned at
the start. A mother of a gay man sat behind
the microphone and talked about how
afraid she has been since her son’s high
school years when he confided to her that
he was gay. She was afraid for him and
afraid too for her own safety to speak out for
him. In January her son died of AIDS. She
said his death had given her courage and
resolve and that she had come out that night
to testify for all the parents and brothers and
sisters and family and friends of gay men
and lesbians who are themselves afraid to
stand up and say that the beatings must stop
and the harrassment must end and that
people who perpetrate such crimes should
be punished.

Well, of course those weren’ther exact
words, but it was something like that. She
and many of us in the room had tears
running down our faces. All the testimony
about internalized slurs and hatred left me

 

Classified Information:

OITM is initiating a Classified Section
featuring items for sale, housing opportuni-
ties, services offered and the like. Individu-
als may place ads at a rate of 50 cents per
word with a $5.00 minimum; for busi-
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macy nor assume responsibility.

To be considered for publication, ads
must be received by the 10th of the month.
Mail to the address in the ad below.
Payment Eaccompany your ad copy,
and we MUST have your full name, ad-
dress, and phone number (these will be kept
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the next issue (August).

with my usual splitting headache and a
welcoming reminder about the growing
handful of people who are finding the cour-
age to stand up and be counted and, as one
woman (the President of Vermont NOW)
put it, “stop those bullies.”

If you think about it, it is just like the
playground, where those big tough white
boys who somehow got the idea that it is
their job to oppress everyone who is some-
how different, and spend all of their time
posturing and intimidating and plotting
their next attack. We are all a little tired of
being the victims of their neurotic insecuri-
ties. It is time to fightback. I never said the
political side of me was dead, just that I
have put it into perspective and realized
that other things in my life are also impor-
tant.

Love,

Dot

OITM UPDATE

The next issue of Out in the
Mountains will be out on July 21 (no
summer vacation this year...) Begin-
ning with the September issue, we
will once again be publishing on a
monthly basis, and all year round!
Thanksfor bearing with us asthe new
OITM staff figured out how to do what
needed to be done!

We are still enjoying our debates on
the inclusion of personal ads and dating
services and welcome your own input on
the matter. Specifically speaking, what
kinds of ads would you or would you not
like to see in 01 TM? Speak now or forever
hold your peace. Forewarned is forearmed.
A stitch in time saves nine. Etc.

Here’s a sample ad, just to give you an
idea, and it's REAL:

WANTED 4|

Volunteers needed for reputable gay/les-
bian/bisexual news magazine. Writers.
photographers, and general staff. Free clas-
sified advertising available with member-
ship. Write: OITM, Box 177, Burlington.
Vermont 05402.

 

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