Out in the Mountains

OITM Roundup:

State, National and World News Briefs
compiled by Kip M. Roberson

Vermont HIV/AIDS
Care Consortium Meets

RANDOLPH -- If you are a person living with HIV/AIDS and
would like to have a say on how Vermont will provide care for
people living with the virus, the Vermont HIV/AIDS Care
Consortium wants you. That was one of the messages from the
group’s September membership meeting at Vermont Technical
College in Randolph. Consortium coordinator Joy Livingston
said that volunteers are sought to help draft a “blueprint to give
us direction on how Vermont will provide care.” Besides the
statewide planning effort, volunteers are sought to work on a
range of issues including housing needs, education of service
providers, and care quality assurance.

Livingston estimated that forty people, among them
representatives of the PWA Coalition, housing groups,
education services, and the Department of Health attended the
day—long meeting. The group’s work is funded by money from
the federal Ryan White legislation.

People interested in participating are encouraged to Contact
Livingston at (802) 482-3115 or write her at RRl Box 997,
Hinesburg, VT. —-Carrie Coy

        

-cg. ..-

lfyou dont think you
need renters insurance, this
could change your tune.
ztill Sltgii 11:5:-‘:?,.“.‘;ti;.‘.?:.’:2li;:::i§i.‘;l:‘i:: l’eu’re in gOO(ltlg§.
863-3808

Ellen Heatherington
130 Prim Road - Colchester, VT 05446

'0 199%Allslalclnsumnrrtfnnipniii,Snnlilvmul l|lmm~ .\'u|u.-u In |lI:!|\’_\ lK‘r!ll~'JlIil lm.u.:n--u~

Virginia Custody Battle Still on Hold

VIRGINIA -- After winning a year-long, headline—making
custody battle to keep her son, Virginia lesbian Sharon Bottoms
has yet to be permanently reunited with the boy, prompting her
lawyers to ask the Virginia Supreme Court to expedite a
decision on whether to hear her mother’s appeal. Kay Bottoms
won custody of her grandson last year, based on her argument
that her daughter, a lesbian, was not fit to be a parent. The
Virginia Court of Appeals in June ruled the boy should be
returned to his mother. However, 3-year-old Tyler Doustou
continues to live with Kay Bottoms while the case is in appeal.
In the meantime, Kay Bottoms has introduced a new argument
in her appeal: that her daughter’s lover, April Wade, would be
an unfit parent because she “had an illegitimate child which was
adopted" in 1987. In its response, the ACLU said Wade’s child
was “conceived as the result of a rape, and April’s courage in
carrying the child to term, then giving it up for adoption, is to be
admired, not excoriated.” Wade said she is offended by the
attack on her character. (Frontiers)

Pet Shop Boy Comes Out

LONDON -- Singer-musician Neil Tennant of the group Pet
Shop Boys came out of the closet in the August issue of the
British gay magazine Attitude. “In the ‘80s I realized that I
probably was gay,” Tennant said. “I mean, by then I knew what
I was attracted to. But I didn’t really have a proper affair with
anyone until three or four years ago, really. For most of the ‘80s
I was, well, not exactly celibate but not far from it.” Tennant
said the latest Pet Shop Boys album, Very, was written from “the
point of view of me being in love.” He added, however, that he
does not want his sexual orientation to become his identity.
Tennant said nothing about the sexuality of Chris Lowe, the
other Pet Shop Boy. (Frontiers)

Crime Bill Includes
Stiffer Punishment for Hate Crimes

WASHINGTON, DC -- The federal crime bill passed by the
U.S. Senate contains increased penalties for hate crimes, the
definition of which now includes lesbians and gay men, making
it the first time Congress has acted to punish hate crimes against
homosexuals, according to the Human Rights Campaign Fund.
The law increases sentences by at least three offense levels for
crimes motivated by the victim’s actual or perceived race, color,
religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, gender or sexual
orientation. The amendment was originally sponsored in the
Senate by Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, and in the House by Charles
Schumer, D—NY. “The inclusion of disability and gender, along
with sexual orientation, sends a message to local law
enforcement agencies that the federal government is serious
about gay—bashing, as well as hate crimes against women, people
with AIDS and people of color,” said Daniel Zingale, public
policy director at HRCF. Past attempts to pass similar
protections for gay men and lesbians failed due to attacks by
Sen. Jesse Helms, R—NC, according to HRCF. (Frontiers)

Japanese Hold First Gay Parade

TOKYO -- Tokyo gays and lesbians celebrated their first pride
parade August 28 when 1,500 marchers took to the streets in