Letters to the Editor _ Dear OITM, ' How sad for us that we have reached 1992 and are still forced to hide who we ' are - forced to hide out of fear - fear of losing our jobs, children, homes and per- _ haps our very lives. I Who are we? We are men and women ’ that most of the population sees as differ- ent, abnormal, but we are simply people ‘ trying to make our way in this life. We ‘ are men and women who work hard at our jobs, we have families to look after, we do the things that will enrich our lives, we care deeply about others. We are people that only want what is our due - our rights - our right to be fully human — without fear. lam grateful for the men and women in our community who have stood their ground and gained for us the rights we now have, but the time has come for all of us to take a stand and suppport each other. Think of the force we would be if we all came out and said I’m here - there- fore I am. Pride Day is coming up in June, let’s take that day, set aside our fear, stand tall, support each other and march down the streets of Montpelier and let everyone know that : We Are Here - Therefore We Dear Friends at 01 TM , I wrote a “support the Gay Rights Bill” letter to Senator Elizabeth M. Ready - Addison County and got a positive re- sponse from her. I also wrote to Repre- sentative John Freidin in Middlebury and received a positive response also. Both were not in office during the last vote, so now I feel good that at least two more positive votes are on our side at this time. I thank you for being a leader in our ef- fort. We shall overcome! Veeshlarvak, La rry Pouliot Middlebury Dear Larry, Thank you for your note on S-131. I thoroughly support this bill to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orienta- tion. I’ll do all I can to see that it passes. Sincerely, Senator Elizabeth Ready Dear Mr. Pouliot, Thanks for your note. You can count on my support for H-162. Are. With what we gain on that day let us Sincerely, carry it forth even more. John Freidin Sandy Corron Burlington Dear Folks at: 017‘ M, Commissioner Camey’s response. I will dis- seminate her factual report on the pending legislation when it comes to the House floor. Good luck. Best wishes, Representative Megan D. Price Nt_)te_: Representative Price asked the Com- missioner of Public Health to review a bro- Cilltre being distributed by opponents of the civil rights bill entitled “Education for Ver- monters on the Homosexual Agenda.” Ex- °°1DiS from Commissoner Camey’s response appear below. Much of the brochure deals with per- 3PCCUVeS_ on personal morality, religious be- hets. pohtical ideology, and similar issues to which I cannot respond, as they are well be- yond the scope of public health concerns. The data the brochure presents on sexually transmitted diseases is, however, sigriificant- ly at odds with our experience in Vermont. Many of the statistics presented are without attribution and represent dated studies fiom other parts of the country. In contrast to the data presented in the brochure, homosexual transmission represents only a small portion of the sexually transmitted disease incidence in Vermont. In Vennont, as in most other parts of the country, AIDS and HIV have dis- proportionately impacted homosexual men. Many studies have shown that homosexual men have made considerable changes in sexualbehaviois inresponsetotliethreatof AIDS, resulting in significant decline in the rate of new HIV infections and dramatic drops in other sexually transmitted diseases among gay men. May 1992 Forconfidenfial AIDS Information Call 1-80O-882-A|DS \ / I Submitting a Letter OITM welcomes letters to the Ed- itor and will withhold your name or use your initials or first name only on request. However, we must have your full name and address for our files if we are to print your letter. Letters may be edited for length or clarity. V The brochure also makes reference to “gay bowel syndrome” involving ainebiasis, shi- gellosis, and hepatitis A. There is no evidence of an “epidemic” of these enter- ic infections among homosexual men (or women) in Vermont. These infections are far more likely to be associated with trans- mission in day care centers, drinking from contaminated water supplies, and foreign travel. It is important to remember that this bill would prevent discrimination in employ- ment, housing, public accommodations, and related areas. 'I;here is no evidence that pas- sage of this legislation would increase the in- cidence of sexually transmitted infections in Vermont. In no way would any person with HIV, gononhea, syphilis, hepatitis B, or sim- ilar sexually transmitted diseases pose a risk to others in those settings. V