Out in the Mountains

Daddyis Roommate

Continued from page 1

Frank touching Daddy's shoulder). Frank is also
depicted putting suntan lotion on Daddy's back at the
beach.

The book explains this relationship as follows:
"Mommy says Daddy and Frank are gay. At first I
didn't know what that meant. So she explained it.
Being gay is just one more kind of love. And love is the
best kind of happiness. Daddy and his roommate are
very happy together, and I'm happy too!"

In a telephone interview, Raiche described how
threatening this experience has been to her young boys,
which she attributes to the content of the story itself
rather than to the family's response to the subject
matter: "My nine-year-old son has asked me, 'Mommy,
if you and Daddy fight does that mean that you will get
a divorce? Will I end up with two Daddies? I don't want
two Daddies, I want a Mommy and a Daddy.'” Raiche
also explained that her younger son is now concerned
that if his cousin comes over to spend the night they
can't share a bed, lest people think they are gay.
"Children are not at the emotional or developmental

«stage to understand these issues. As a parent these

issues are hard to explain. These are reality questions
for kids, but too complicated to explain to a
six-year-old."

Raiche wants to see library materials segregated into
"age appropriate" sections, on a basis comparable to
the ratings of motion pictures that have been widely
accepted as a parenting aid. Raiche met with Paula

Baker, Director of the Rutland Free Library, who explained that the Library
had earlier adopted both the Freedom to Read Statement and the Library Bill
of Rights established by the American Library Association. The Library Bill
of Rights specifically precludes the kind of segregation proposed by Raiche,
for one of its fundamental tenets is that library materials should not be
restricted on the basis of age.

Baker noted that "the Rutland Free Library's policy prohibits removal or
having materials made inaccessible because someone finds them dangerous
or unpalatable or offensive." Raiche has lobbied the Board of the Rutland
Free Library to rescind this policy, which she has suggested is old and
out-of-date.

“Raiche stated that it is unfortunate that the piece that originally caught her

attention had homosexual content, for her campaign has been misinterpreted
as an attack against the gay community. Raiche believes that books that
depict body parts are equally as disturbing as those that support altemate
lifestyles. "If it had been a book about where babies come from, what would
people have said then?" From Raiche's perspective, this is a "parental, not a
political issue. I didn't mean to offend or insult the gay community."

The Rutland Herald on June 4th ran the following statement: "Raiche says
she has been unfairly attacked as a homophobe. But she also concedes that
she has rethought her own views on homosexuality in recent weeks and has
concluded that she is less accepting of homosexuality than she once thought
she was." In her interview for Out in the Mountains, Raiche asserted that
she was misrepresented in that statement. In discussing her views of
homosexuality, though, Raiche stated, "the American Psychological
Association says that homosexuality is now normal and you're probably
born with it. But the APA is also trying to‘ normalize pedophilia."

Raiche's crusade, though having by far the highest visibility of recent efforts
around Vermont, is certainly not unique. Daddy's Roommate has also been
challenged in Sherbume, and libraries around the state have been reviewing
their commitments to the Library Bill of Rights. One disturbing element of
recent statewide efforts to address censorship issues in our public libraries,
apparent in the Rutland case, is the linking of homosexuality with

pornography in these debates. Three trustees of
Marshfield's Jaquith Public Library resigned this past
December after establishing a more balanced collection
was cited as justification for making available the book
Two Teenagers in Twenty, a collection of essays by
gay and lesbian teenagers. The (Barre-Montpelier)
Times Argus quoted one resigning trustee, Donna
Metcalf, as saying she resigned because she "could not
support the ‘fullest efforts of the librarian in resisting
censorship of library materials,” but in a letter to the
Hardwick Gazette, Metcalf elaborated on her
resignation as opposition to the availability of
pornography in our public libraries.

Raiche denies that her efforts are part of an organized
protest against the availability of gay literature in our
public libraries, but acknowledges that she has been
supported by the local Catholic Church and Family
Friendly Libraries, an organization founded by Karen Jo
Gounaud of Fairfax County, Virginia, who is described
in the June 4th Rutland Herald as "a mentor to religious
groups that want homosexual literature removed from
public libraries." Gounaud is "part of a nationwide effort
by conservative Christians to fight homosexuality,
particularly by influencing libraries and schools. Family
Friendly Libraries encourages libraries to ‘aid in the
preservation of the traditional family."‘ Gounaud has
also been quoted as saying that Family Friendly

Libraries "believes that censorship is sometimes
‘perfectly legal and constitutional."'
See related stories “Public Hears Daddy's

Roommate,” page 7, and “Daddy's Author and the
Rutland Controversy, "page 9. V

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