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VERMONT’S FORUM FOR LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER ISSUES

Volume XI, Number 3

May 1996

.FREE

Weekday at Bernie's:

The OITM Interview with Rep. Bernie Sanders

by Paul Olsen

BURLINGTON -- Fifteen years ago, Bemie
Sanders changed Burlington's political landscape by
narrowly defeating incumbent Democratic Mayor
Gordon Paquette. Since 1990, he has served as
Vermont's lone State Representative, and the only
Independent, in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Sanders, 54, currently serves on the House Banking
and Financial Services Committee, the Government
Reform and Oversight Committee, and as Chair of
the Progressive Caucus of the U.S. Congress.

According to Sanders, the 34—member Progressive
Caucus is organized around "the principles of social
and economic justice, a non—discriminating society,
and national priorities which represent the interests
of all people, not just the wealthy and powerful" Its
purpose Sanders declares, is “to present thoughtful,
practical solutions to the economic and social
problems facing America." Major agenda items for
Sanders include progressive tax reform, national
health care, military spending cuts, environmental
health and safety, a national energy policy, support
for family farms, the rights of workers, job creation,
increasing the minimum wage, and women's rights.

As Bur1ington‘s Mayor, Sanders - issued a
proclamation recognizing Gay Pride Day in spite of
the City Council's opposition. Since serving in the
U.S. House of Representatives, he has co—sponsored
two federal bills (the Employment
Nondiscrimination Act and the Civil Rights
Amendments Act) that, if passed, would prohibit
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation
nationwide. Sanders has consistently received 100%
positive ratings from two national gay rights’groups:
the Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF) and the
National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF).

Representative Sanders recently met with Out in the
Mountains to discuss gay rights, the current political
climate, and his own upcoming reelection
campaign against State Senator Susan Sweetser
(R—Chittenden).

OITM: How do the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual,
and transgendered Vermonters fit with the
progressive movement in America? ,
Sanders: I think the progressive movement believes
in a nondiscriminatory society...that people are
judged by their character, their ability to do their
jobs, and not by their race, their color, their political
orientation, or their sexual orientation. People have
the right to do what they can do in their lives
without being discriminated against because of their
sexual orientation. ‘

I'm very proud of the fact that the record will show
that we have a 100% voting record on these issues.
Progressives who have been active in the women's
movement, active in the civil rights movement,
active in the gay rights movement... I think you'll
find them often in the forefront of this struggle,
prepared to come out earlier and more forcefully
than many others.

OITM: What are your thoughts on the prospects of
passage of national civil rights legislation
prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation?

Sanders: You know as well as I do what's going on
in the Congress right now. The standard of living of
the middle class is in decline and working people
are working longer hours for low wages. The people
who control the country are trying to divide
America up in many different ways. They have
made the poor a major scapegoat, so they are
blaming a lot of the economic problems that the
middle class is having on the poor which is
absolutely untrue.

They also need other types of scapegoats in terms of
people who have utilized Affirrnative Action. Gay
people in particular are being singled out as the

Independent U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders.

cause of many of the social problems that we face in
this country. So I think so long as we have people
like (House Speaker) Gingrich, Pat Buchanan, Dick
Armey, and folks like that leading the United States
Congress, I am not optimistic that we're going to
have policies developed that will support equal
rights for all members of society.

The gay community is being used as a whipping
boy, just as the poor people are, and just as blacks
will be in a more subtle way. The gay community is
right on the hit list of the Christian Coalition.

OITM: In spite of the rr1ilitary's new "don‘t ask, don't
tell" policy, the number of discharged gay members
of the armed services increased 21% in 1995. What
are your thoughts on the new policy?

Sanders: I think Clinton has wavered a great deal.
My own view is that throughout the history of this

. countryno one can deny that gay men and women

have fought in our wars and have given their lives.
They have every right, if they choose, to participate
fully in the military, and we are opposed to
discrimination against gays and lesbians in the
military. ’

OITM: Congress passed, and President Clinton
recently signed (as part of a larger Defense bill) into
law Representative Bob Doman's (R—Califomia)
proposal to discharge members of the armed
services who are I-IlV—positive. What is your
position on this policy and what, if any, are the
prospects for reversing it?

Sanders: I am strongly opposed to that policy.
Doman is one of the leading homophobes in the
Congress. It is an incredibly vicious policy because
it discriminates and hurts people who are already
suffering.

We all know enough about AIDS now to know how I

it is passed and how it is not passed. We have one
of the leading basketball players in the N.B.A., who
is I-IIV—positive, now doing an extraordinarily good
job for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Doman is one of the leaders of the Right Wing's
efforts to use the gay community as whipping boys.
I don't think you're going to reverse that (discharge
policy) within the current complexion of the
Congress. It is really rather astounding and quite
frightening that a person like Bob Doman can
become the Chairman of an important
subcommittee. So long as the Republicans control
the Congress, and so long as the Christian Coalition
continues to have the kind of influence it does, we
cannot expect a cessation in the anti—gay attacks.

OITM: Increased funding for AIDS services in
Vermont under the Ryan White CARE Act is
currently delayed while House and Senate conferees
try to resolve differences regarding HIV testing of

Continued on page 9

 

._ brought his

Legislature Unexpectedly
Confronts Gay Marriage

MON'I‘PELIER — A preliminary skirmish shows that the politically
charged issue of whether to legalize sarne-sex marriages will probably
be hotly contested in the Vermont State house.

The issue unexpectedly arose on the Senate floor as lawmakers prepared
to debate what was presumed to be a rather innocuous bill. The
legislation would have dropped the requirement that people seeking a
marriage license had to obtain it through the town clerk in the
community where they live. It would have allowed any town clerk in the
state to issue a license to anyone, regardless of the applicant's hometown.

But Sen. Stephen Webster, R-Orange, noticed that the proposed bill
would have deleted from state statutes anyone reference to “bride and
groom." He argued that such a change would open Vennont to a court
case claiming the state sanctioned gay marriages, which he opposes.

The bill had already passed the House without anyone - lobbyists or
lawmakers -- catching the significance of the wording. Sponsors said
they had not intended to make gay marriages legal. It turned out that the
Legislative Council had drafted the bill under a new policy that requires
legislative staff to use gender-neutral language wherever possible.

The Vermont Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights had not laid the
groundwork and was not prepared to make the case for gay marriages.
But, fearing that either defeat of the bill or a vote to restore the phrase
' “bride and groom” would send the message that the Vermont
Legislature opposed gay marriages, VCDGR took up the cause.

‘ What VCDGR lobbyists succeeded in doing was getting the bill sent

back to committee for more testimony. And, faced with the potentially
huge ramifications that faced them, members of the_ Government
Operations Committee decided to table the bill for this session.

What is not clear is how well the issue would fare on its own merits. The
legislature has in the recently passed Adoption Reform Bill. already has
approved opening adoption to lesbians and gays. Whether the coalition
of Republicans and Democrats who came together on that issue would
stick together on the even more controversial issue of gay marriages is

an open question. V
 

The Healing Arts:
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance
Company Comes to Vermont

  

'49

Photo by Staci Visco
U VM Campus Minister Roddy Cleary shares a moment of
humorous insight with gay dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones.

by Paul Olsen

Openly gay dancer, director and choreographer Bill T. Jones recently
world—renowned dance company to perform in
Burlington. Jones, 44, based his provocative new dance, “Still/Here,”
on interviews with more than 200, people facing life-threatening
illnesses. Jones himself disclosed that he is HIV-positive in 1992.

In addition to his dance company's performance, Jones's visit
included participation in a community forum on living with mortality‘
in America. Subtitled "How Will We Live Well While Dying?," the
two—hour forum (sponsored by Fletcher Allen Health Care, the Flynn
Theater, and the Vermont Ethics Network) included medical ethicist
Daniel Callahan and a three—member community panel. Roddy
O'Neal Cleary, Campus Minister at the University of Vermont,
moderated the discussion. A

Continued on page 5