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Out in the Mountains

VERMONT'S NEWSPAPER FOR LESBIANS, GAY MEN, AND BISEXUALS

 

Volume IX, Number 2

April, 1994

Coalition Takes Off

Terje Anderson

Riding a wave of enthusiasm following the
successful December conference, the newly
formed Board of the Vermont Coalition of
Lesbians and Gay Men is gearing up for a
new, high profile series of activities aimed at
building a strong statewide organization and
community.

The 19 member steering committee has now
met three times since being elected in De-
cember, with initial meetings focused on
structural issues (by—laws, forming com-
mittees, etc) and developing a vision of what
the Coalition will do to address the needs of
the Vermont lesbian/gay community. Board
meetings have been marked by a high level
of energy and excitement as members figure
out how to work together and share their vi-
sions for the work that lies ahead.

The Coalition will soon begin a series of ed-
ucational and organizational programs
around the state, including screning of right-
wing anti—gay propaganda films and video,
activities around the Vermont Pride celebra-
tion in June, and further in the future, re-
gional workshops held in conjunction with
local groups.

Also in the works is a membership drive,
designed to build a strong, statewide
grassroots network, which organizers
view as imperative to sucessful leg-
islative work, public information and lo-
cal organizing efforts. Planning is al-
ready beginning for the next statewide
conference, probably to be held in early
November. A Public Policy Committee
has been created to monitor legislative
and administrative activities.

Steering Committee members em-
phasize that this is an open process,
and that in order to be successful, the
Coalition needs the active involvement
of people throughout the state. Com-
munity members interested in planning
or participating in Coalition activities
in their area should contact one of the
two co-chairs (Sue Aronsen at 728-
4121 or Bill Lippert at 482-3528).
There are plenty of ways to get in-
volved, and Board members have re-
peatedly emphasized that “we’re go-
ing to have some fun while we get
things done.” V

Vermont's Coming

Paul Olsen

Vennont will be represented by at least
one group of athletes at the Unity ‘94
Gay Games IV & ‘Cultural Festival in
New York City from June 18-25. A
group of Vermont Gay Volleyball
(VGV) players has organized a team of
eight members who will travel to New
York to participate in the fourth
international Gay Games.

Founded in 1982, the Gay Games aim to
bring together lesbian and gay athletes
from around the world to compete in
various sports including martial arts &
judo, power lifting, soccer, wrestling,

and volleyball. Coinciding with the 25th
anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall
Riots, the Gay Games IV & Cultural
Festival promise to be the largest
lesbian and gay event since the 1993
March on Washington. Event organizers
expect to welcome 500,000 spectators
and 15,000 athletes from over 40

— countries.

According to team member Bob
Bolyard the idea for organizing a
Vermont team began last fall. In

Continued on page 2

THE RIGHT
RESPONSE:

The Blues of VT
Recognizes Domestic
Partnerships

Fred Kuhr

On January 1, 1994, Blue Cross/Blue
Shield of Vermont, one of the state’s top
health insurance companies, began of-
fering domestic partnership benefits to.
its employees. Any eligible subscriber
group, such as an employer or associa-
tion, may opt to offer these benefits to

‘ their employees or group members as

well. Health insurance companies, usu-
ally viewed as politically conservative,
are slowly responding to outside pres-
sures to recognize domestic partners and
the partner's dependent children. For ex-
ample, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Mas-
sachusetts also began offering domestic
partnership benefits at the start of the
year. According to Karen Saudek, Di-
rector of Human Resources for Blue
Cross/Blue Shield of Vermont, her com-
pany is merely reflecting the fact that
“the definition of family has broad-
ened.”

The U.S. Census Bureau backs up Sau- I

dek’s statement with figures showing
that unmarried couples make up ap-
proximately 4.2 million households. Of
those, 2.6 million are unmarried hetero-
sexual couples and 1.6 million are gay or
lesbian couples.

Most companies, however, still do not
offer domestic partnership benefits.
Aside from moral issues, cost is the rea-
son many companies do not consider the
option. In a recent issue of Employee
Relations Weekly, Thomas Coleman,
Executive Director of the Los Angeles
domestic partnership advocacy group,
the Spectrum Institute, was quoted as
saying, “There’s just a general fear with
regard to escalating health care costs.”

Continued on page 10