ll Out in the M VERMONT'S NEWSPAPER FOR LESBIANS, GAY MEN, AND BISEXUALS APR Volume VII, Number 4 May 1992 |tPassed! Deborah Lashman After a long wait and much hard work, the civil rights bill is on its way to becoming law. Vermont is poised to become the sixth state in the U.S., joining Wisconsin, Mas- sachusetts, Connecticut, Hawaii, and New Jersey, in providing civil rights protections for its lesbian and gay citizens. Final House approval came April 13th, on a vote of 73 to 67 with 9 members voting ab- sent. Initially approved the previous Friday, by a vote of 71 to 58 with 20 members vot- ing absent, the bill survived weekend ef- forts to derail it. A last minute attempt to kill the bill, en- gineered by Rep. Nancy Sheltra, R-Derby, failed Tuesday afternoon when the House defeated by a vote of 80 to 67 a motion by Robert Starr, D-Troy to reconsider Mon- day’s vote. The Senate Judiciary Com- niittee has concurred with language chang- es in the House version, so all that remains at press time is an expected full con- currance by the Senate on April 16th and signature by Governor Dean, a staunch sup- porter of the bill. A wide margin of success (20-9) in passing the bill in the Senate earlier in April gave supporters encouragement for the fight in the House. Keith Goslant, Co—Liaison to the Governor, Statewide Coalition for Lesbians and Gay Men, said he was suprised that the bill was approved by such a margin. “It shows change is really happening. This gives me every indication this bill is going to pass this session.” Senate approval came after an hour of debate, during which Sen- ator David Wolk, chief sponsor of the bill, remarked, “It is incumbent on us together to establish the highest standards and common expectations in Vermont that we will not tolerate prejudice.” Ron Squires, Vermont's only openly gay representative spoke near the end of the de- bate in the House on Friday, “This bill is not about special privileges or rights. It’s about giving gay men and lesbians the same Ilghts that you all have. I cannot tell you how I felt as this body debated whether or not I had the same privileges as the other 149 members of this House and 30 mem- bers of the body across the hall.” Op- ponents attacked either ignored or down- played the need for civil rights protections, instead attacking the bill on “moral” grounds. Rep. Merrill Perley, R-Enosburg said, “It’s a moral issue. To pass this bill, it would be against my Christian beliefs.” Supporters were relieved and jubilant at the outcome. Susan Sussman, Executive Di- rector of the State Office of Human Rights, said, “It’s so spectacular. A couple of months ago we needed to turn around 30 votes. It was only a week or two ago that it really began to look possible.” Keith Gos- lant said, “This is the first time in my 38 years I feel like a real citizen.” “It’s in the long Vermont tradition of people protecting people’s rights to privacy and their civil rights,” said Governor Dean. Speaker of the House, Ralph Wright remarked, “It sends a signal to all people that the state of Ver- mont will not tolerate discrimination wherever it is found.” Yes: Thomas R. Alderman, D—Midd1ebury; Linda L. Almy, D~ Underhill; Alice Cook Bassen, D-Burlington; Terrill G. Bouricius, PC-Burlin ri; Lovina D. Bright, D-South Bur- lington; Francis K. rocks, D-Mtg:-fiaelier; Orland Camp- bell, R-Manchester, Sean P. Camp , D—Rockin am; Lu- cille M. Casavant, D—Winooski; Nancy I. hard, D- Brattleboro; Nancy W. Chiofii, D-Burlin ; Andy H.Christensai, D-E. Montpelier; David M. larksm, D- Newfane; Wendell Colernan,.R-Lrmdoaiderry;Iohn_Dal- ey, D—RuLland; Davis, D-Burlington; David_L. Deen, D-Westminster, Judith L DiMario, D—Fayson; Alice M. Errimons, D—S ringficld; Sally G. Fox, D-Essex; John S. Freidin, D-New averi; Sara M. Gear, R-Burlin_gton; Bar- bara L. Grimes, D—Bur1ington; Paul C,. Hamngtm, R- Middlesex; Robert J. Harris, D-Windsor; Don Hoopa, D- Brookfield; Rooger V. Kayhart, R-Waltham; Kathleen C. Keenan, II)(-3; Vfzayne I(en§0nI,(iD