Democratic challenger, Doug Racine, a forward thinking former Chittenden County State Senator; on the other side we had the Republican incumbent, Barbara Snelling, someone whose only claim to fame is her last name. During a Pride Day interview, Racine said, “We need to deal with discrimination issues, violence, and health issues, but I guess I just see the gay and lesbian community as being part of the broader community. Let’s try to find ways to educate people who don’t feel that way...The goal is to have one community where nobody’s feeling discriminated against.” And where was Babs on Pride Day? So in the Lieutenant Govemor’s race, we lose another point. Another big loss is not as obvious but is very real. The makeup of the State Legislature in Montpelier has changed. Mirroring the U.S. House and Senate, Vem1ont’s has become more conservative and right wing. This is not the group that passed the ground breaking non-discrimination legislation in 1992. So as we plan political strategies to advance the civil rights of our community, we must take this into consideration. If and when Hawaii approves same—sex marriage, for example, how will Vermont tackle the issue? Hard to say. In the State Legislature, we lose another point. A note to our neighbors...Congratulations to our neighbors to the South in Massachusetts for reelecting U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy while our condolences go out to our neighbors to the West in New York. Longtime friend of the community, Governor Mario Cuomo, was defeated by State Senator George Pataki. Cuomo, someone who issued aniexecutive order banning discrimination based upon sexual orientation in state government, will be replaced by a Republican who received a 100% rating from Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition. New York State loses many points. Whatever happens as a result of these elections, let them serve as a wake up call. Our rights as individuals are not guaranteed, our relationships are far from being recognized, and our contributions to society are not wholly valued. Vermont is still much better off than many other states around the country, but do not let that make you feel secure. Let your legislators and your leaders know how you feel; their addresses and phone numbers can always be found in OITM. Let the rest of your community know how you feel by writing a letter to the editor. Until then, try not to stare too intensely at Newt Gingrich’s face on CNN. 7 Letters to the Editor In Search Of...Gay Vermont History “I am calling to ask if you would be willing to lead a workshop focused upon gay Vermont history at the Vermont Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights conference,” asked one of the program committee members. I knew he must be joking, but I played along. “I assume you mean starting with such gay notables as Ethan Allen and Ann Story up to our current governor, right!” My caller persisted, “I am serious.” I knew I was not the person he should be contacting because I know almost nothing about the history of gay persons in Vermont. I wondered who would. I suspected that historians such as Martin Duberrnan had not unearthed too much in the Green Mountain State... I recently read Kevin Jennings’ most recent release, One Teenager In Ten, in which many public and private school educators have written about their experiences coming out in their respective schools. No one from Vermont was included. Why I wonder. This past year, as a volunteer for the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury, I have been collecting audio—taped January 1995 interviews from lesbians and gay men living in Vermont. These tapes, and the subsequent transcriptions from them, will become part of the archives in the Center's collection of information about folklife in Vermont. I guess this is one of the many ways in which our very current history is being recorded. But what is our history? And how can we find it and record it? Maybe more importantly, what are we doing to collect the history we are making now? Should anyone else be interested in this topic, I would appreciate your making a contact with me: Cleland E. Selby 11 Woodbridge Lane Middlebury, VT 0575 3 (802) 388-3729 (evenings) Maybe next year at the third annual conference of the VCLGR, we could offer what occurred in 1995 in the collecting and recording of gay history in Vermont. Cleland E. Selby Middlebury Continued page 14.