Out in the Mountains Torie Osborn Comes Back to Vermont Fred Kuhr “Janet Reno is not a lesbian, but she is America’s new butch role model. And we love it!” This queer insight into American politics today was just part of the humor and the message that Torie Osborn, Executive Director of the Na- tional Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), brought to her Burlington audience as she spoke in front of more than 100 people in the Billings Theater on the University of Vermont campus on the evening of October 12. Ms. Osborn, who spoke at her alma mater, Middlebury College, the day be- fore, praised Vermont for its pro- gressive politics both then and now. She attended UVM and Middlebury during the seventies and calls Burling- ton “the place that nurtured my identity as a lifelong activist". She credits Ver- mont’s lesbian/feminist movement of the time as her inspiration. She was.also impressed by how much had changed over the years. Upon vis- iting Middlebury’s campus on Coming . Out Day, she saw about 50% of the stu- dents wearing buttons with a pink tri- angle proclaiming “Straight But Not Narrow.” “I can't believe it!” Ms. Osborn emphasized that since every- one has a “sphere of influence” of 200- 300 people with whom one comes in contact, “coming out is the core issue of our movement”. She spoke of the social and cultural “revolution” of the past year citing the 1992 Democratic and Re- publican conventions, Bill Clinton’s presidential victory, and the gays in the military issue. Events such as the rise of the right wing, the amendment fights in Colorado and Oregon, and thirteen years of the AIDS epidemic build our com- munity and increase our visibility, she said. She cited a recent statistic that stat- ed that 53% of the U.S. population say they know someone who is gay or les- bian up from 39% a year ago. Politically, she continued, the gay and les- bian movement needs to refocus and re- structure. “They (the Religious Right) accuse us of (having) the gay agenda. I don’t think we know what it is.” She said that we are in a “battle for the soul of America” - a battle between the Religious Right and everyone else. Our core is- sues, such as health care, childrens’ is- sues, and the redefinition of family are GAY NIGHTCLUB Where to Find OITM Bennington Bennington Free Library Bennington College Bennington Library Record Rack Southern Vermont College Brattleboro Brattleboro Food Coop Cahoots Common Ground Everyone's Books Burlington Burlington College Chassman & Bem Fletcher Free Library Onion River Co-op Partners in Recovery & Growth Peace & Justice Center Pearls Planned Parenthood Castleton STEP Learning Center Chester Misty Valley Books Chester Crafisbury Craftsbury Public Library VERM0NT's PREMIER PHOT GLAMOUR, FORMAL & HIGH FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY (802) 862-5497 80 Church Street, Corner of Church & Bonk, Burlington, VT 05401 2'; Center Rutland Rutland Area Gay/Lesbian Connection East Bamet Innwood Manor East Hardwick Greenhope Farm Fair Haven Fair Haven Free Library Hardwick Buffalo Mountain Coop Galaxy Books Lyndonville Jon's Automotive Project EXCEL, Lyndon State College Manchester Center Northshire Bookstore Middlebury Middlebury Natural Food Coop Montpelier Bear Pond Books Horn of the Moon Cafe Rivendell Books Woman Centered Morrisville Morristown Centennial Library Newfane Moore Free Library Northfield Brown Public Library Norwich Social Alternatives for Gay Men Plainfield Woman's Study Program Putney Putney Library Randolph Kimball Public Library Rutland PFLAG Rutland Free Library United Methodist Churh Grace Cong. United Church of Christ St. Johnsbury LUNA/NEVGALR c/o Umbrella Natural Provisions Regional Library St. Johnsbury Athenaeum Stowe Food for Thought Waterbury Video Exchange White River Junction WRJ Books Upper Valley Coop Williamstown, MA Wild Oats Co-op Or by Subsaiption mailed right to your door! 12