rm‘ .'~, _,.._...-~-»., ......,-~..,,_.._ ..., .,4..,,. ..,, ..,,. .._,.., ..,.,...,- .- ...-~-..~ ..-..- ‘*1’ -~-— «V -.- V-.»«....,,..... 8 -—. OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS — OCTOBER 1997 .-"\» I ll ‘(tn 2 Church St. Burlington _ «Leah Wittenberg I .\'l'«'i ( 'Irim*.zi' Mi'~rn.iI Health ('uun.qi.~[nr Psychotherapy for Individuals and Couples Lesbians Considering Parenthood Body Centered Psychotherapy Associates in Recovery (802) 865-4568 Jean Towns (802) 893-48 I 6 Milton. Vermont Janet K. Brown, M.A., C.A.D.C. LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST — MASTER CERTIFIED ALCOHOL AND oaue COUNSELOR end, M.A., L.C.M.H.C. UCENSED CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR Susan McKenzie MS. Burlington, Vermont (802) 863-8162 Quechee Licensed Psychologist—Master Experienced therapist specializing in the individual and relationship issues of Lesbian. Women and Gay Men Montpelier 802 29 5 - S 5 33 Insurance Accepted-Slidin g Fee Scale Norwich Susan F. Sm Cheryl A. Gibson MD. i , o WOMENOI CHOICE GYNECOLOGIC ASSOCIATES 23 Mansfield Avenue, Burlington. Vermont 05401 802-863-9001 Fax:802-863-4951 ith M.D. Comprehensive Obstetrical fa’ Gynecological Services in 11 Small Practice Setting Since 1972. VERMONT WOMEN'S HEALTH CENTER 336 North Avenue Burlington Vermont 802 ' B63 0 1386. £?<:‘ir"-.'iii=,—' I"-‘!='.,i.<.i«.;‘.i<:ir'. Carol L. Thoyer, M.D. Educafion DALLAS — A new private school has opened in Dallas that caters to gays and lesbians. Walt Whitman Commu- nity School in Dallas is the first private school for gays, al- though a few students are there not because they are gay themselves, but because a par- ent is. The school was founded by Becky Thompson, a lesbian, and Pamala Stone, who is straight. The veteran educators had observed students harass- ing others at the Walden Pre- paratory School in the north Dallas suburb of Addison, which they both left in January. They are troubled by studies concluding that gay and lesbian youth are at higher risk for destructive behaviors. ”The more we talked about it, we just became com- mitted to doing it," Thompson said. ”It was a simple ’Here’s a problem,’ and we had the so- lution.” Tuition at Whitman is _ $7,000 annually. Thompson said all seven students are re- ceiving financial assistance from people who want the school to succeed. The school also is seeking grants from pri- vate foundations. They hope eventually to have up to 30 students. Gay bar i<'”A l s E R Community ° Health Plan (’)R'I‘lII'iAS"l' DIVISION PERMANENTE Georgia Health Center RR#2, Box 1760 Fairfax, VT 05454 Tel: 802/524-9595 Fax: 802/524-2867 MINNEAPOLIS — Two straight men tried to get into a gay bar and were turned away. Now they're suing, arguing they were victims of discrimination. Torence Harris and Greg Krebs say they went to the Gay » 90's Theatre Cafe 8: Bar on July 29 to meet two friends. -They contend a bouncer told’them they could not enter because they are not gay, lesbian or bi- sexual. They say in a lawsuit that be- ing turned away violates a 1993 amendment to the Minne- sota Human Rights Act guar- anteeing access to accommo- dations and businesses regard- less of sexual orientation. They are demanding more than $50,000 in damages. Robert Parker, the bar's night manager, denied the al- legations. ”We serve anyone who isn't drunk, underage or belligerent," he said. ”I think they're out for monetary gain,” Parker added. Still not telling SAN FRANCISCO — Another federal appeals court says if you tell, you can't serve. The 9th ,U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the discharge of two members of the service for declaring their sexuality. The court said in a 2- 1 ruling that the two menywere J discharged for their conduct, not their speech. ”The military has a legiti- mate interest in discharging service members on account of homosexual conduct in order to maintain effective armed forces,” the court said. The court also said the military was entitled to pre- sume that self-declared gays and lesbians had a ”propensity to engage in prohibited homo- sexual conduct.” That pre- sumption can be disproven, and some have done so, the court said. A dissentingjudge said the policy "severely burdens speech,” encourages lying and has no rational connection to military effectiveness. Museum protest NEW YORK — A new museum is being sued because it in- cludes a commemoration of gays and lesbians persecuted by the Nazis. Sixteen Orthodox Jewish rabbis sued in federal court, arguing that the new Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust of- fends the beliefs of Orthodox Jews because of the exhibit on gays and lesbians. The rabbis were angry over ”the elevation of homo- sexuals to the martyred status of the six million Jews,” who died in the Holocaust, said Rabbi Yehuda Levin, the lead plaintiff. g ' Their suit says the use of public money to build the mu- seum near Battery Park was unconstitutional. Gay Emmys HOLLYWOOD — Ellen DeGeneres lost out on an Emmy herself, but her coming- out episode snagged one. DeGeneres was beaten out for best actress in a com- edy by Helen Hunt, star of Mad About You. But the episode of Ellen in which DeGeneres’ character comes out as a lesbian won for outstanding writing for a com- edy series. DeGeneres dedicated the award to gay and lesbian teen- agers, telling them: ”There’s nothing wrong with you. Don't ever let anybody make you feel ashamed of who you are.” Gay-friendly-Gore WASHINGTON — Vice Presient Al Gore says he's on our side. Gore pledged at a speech in Washington that gays and lesbians ”certainly have my commitment to work as hard as I can” to stop anti—gay hate crimes, find a cure for AIDS and end workplace discrimi- nation. ”It is time for all Ameri- cans to recognize that the is- sues that face gays and lesbi- ans in this country are not nar- row, special interests, they are matters of basic human and civil rights,” Gore told the Na- tional Gay and Lesbian Task Force at its annual awards cer- emony. ' The task force honored Coretta Scott King, widow of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King; AFL-CIO Presi- dent John Sweeney; and the Mautner Project, a service or- ganization for lesbians with cancer. Adi campaign WASHINGTON — The voices of gays and lesbians were heard in last year's elections. A new study finds that the Human Rights Campaign was among the groups that spent heavily on advertising to promote a candidate while avoiding campaign finance laws. The University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center docu- mented how labor unions, trade groups, single-issue or- ganizations and the two major parties exploited a gray area of campaign finance law and passed off the spots as generic ”issue ads” by leaving out words that specifically urged viewers to vote for or against a candidate. The Human Rights Cam- paign, the nation’s largest +gay+ advocacy group, spent $100,000 on issue ads and pub- lic service announcements, ac- cording to the study. Maine rights AUGUSTA, MAINE -Gay rights have been put on hold in Maine. A day before a new -gay rights law was due to go into effect, Opponents presented the secretary of state with enough signatures for a possible refer- endum on the anti-discrimina- tion act. Now the secretary of state will have to determine whether enough of the signa- tures are Valid. If they are, the law will remain on hold until a statewide vote, which would be scheduled after November and before April. If there aren't enough, the law goes into ef- fect. The law, approved by the Legislature earlier this year and signed by Gov. Angus King, bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in housing, public accommo- dations, credit and employ- ment. In 1995, Maine voters narrowly defeated a referen- dum that sought to outlaw civil rights protections for ho- mosexuals.