8 — OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS — FEBRUARY 1998 C1‘5'§”s‘irieds looking fill‘... ——————————— "‘ ‘ GOING MY WAY? I am looking for someone who is driving to the OutWrite '98 conference in Boston (Feb 20-22) and would like to sharea ride. l’|l help pay for gas. Call Jeff at 6547665 or email: Krenwirkle@AOL.com. Are you a glbt/queer singer, performer, comedian, band? Then we want you! middlebury open queer alliance is looking for local talent for a coffeehouse/cabaret style event at Middlebury College on Thursrlay January 15th or 22nd. If you are interested, please send info to moqa, Drawer 8, Middlebury College, Middlebury 05753 or call Carolyn @ 388-9435. living situations ————————— — — Housemate wanted. Wonderful farmhouse l1 Monkton. Dyke seeks some kinda queer to share home with me and my dog. Other pets or kids welcome it we all get along. Large room, semi-furnished. Beautiful setting, large yard. 30 mins to Burlington or Middlebury. $300 plus. Call 453-5370 or email HankVT@ao|.com. Housemate wanted in Swanton Village. Available immediately. Large room with bathroom, $350/month utilities included. One month deposit required. Call 802- 868-5159 after 4:00 p.m. Responsible GM looking for an inexpensive living situation in Hardwick area. Seeking sublet or extended house sitting arrangement. Don't smoke, don't have pets. call 865 0385. 36 Year old vegetarian, nonsmoking gay male looking for a quality roommate in my country home 35 minutes to Burlington with 8 acres, a wood-fired sauna and 2 shelties (smallish dogs). $325, plus split itilities. Steven - 434-5653. real BS1318 ———————————— — — Cabin and Land For Sale: Year round rustic cabin on 10.27 wooded acres in guildhall, VT. 35 minutes East of St. Johnsbury. Cabin is newly finished this fall, no electric, well insulated, on a year round well maintained gravel road. Has low taxes, very private, and safe. $28,900. call Teri Anderson (603) 788 5530 Urban Gardener's Haven ~ Heated sunroorri, large sunny living room, one bath, two bedrooms, and a garden full of perennials, herbs, blueberries and dwarf fruit trees. $97,000. Call Susan at 865-0436. volunteers ———————————— —— SISTER PAIRS NEEDED Volunteers to complete survey about how tl'e lives of adult sisters are similar or different. Contact: Esther Rothblum, Box 278, Dewey Hall, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, tel. 802-656-4156 and request two surveys or give addresses of you and your sister. OITM is looking for volunteers to help with out reach, writing, reporting, photography and community building. Volurteers will need to be able to work with deadlines, but on the other hand will be invited to all the best parties. IIEPSIIIIEIS ———————————— — — Colchester, 24 year old GF mom. Single attractive Fem. enjoys laughing, dancing, free spirited, intelligent. Seeks intellegent, grounded, attractive 22-36 yearold GWF who enjoys time with children and time alone. Call for friendship, maybe more: (802)654-7134 GWP couple, late 40's, seek ltrs and advice from sim. men in So. VT who can help us realize our dream of one day relocating to So. VT. Need info on real estate, community life, and social support. We are a mature yet young-at-heart couple hopeful of a new life in VT in retireme nt. all answered. Write: RCW - 3380 Sheridan Dr., Ste 360, Amherst, NY 14226-1439. Female Searching for that special someone that will be my best friend, soulmate and eventually loving partner. If you're dete mined, sensitive, hard working and affectionate I'm 38 and l'd like to hear from you. Soul Mate, RR1 Box 25., West Danville,VT 05873 J ' announcing 3- —e ————— — — — — — — Lesbian Nurses (LPNs, Rns, nurse practitioners, etc.) — lnformal first get-together on Wed. Feb 18th, 7pm, Burlington. Locatioi and time of future meetings to be established by group. for More information call Elizabeth, 864-7898. OlTM’s Classified section features items for sale, housing opportunities, Personals, help wanted and the like. As a new service to our readers Individuals may place ads for free! Donations are welcome and encouraged. We reserve the right to refuse ads. Responding orp/acing ads is done at an individual's own risk. Ads must be received by the twentieth of the previous month. Mall ad copy and optional donation to PO Box 177, Burlington VT 05402 or email it to O/TM@togethernet. We miist have full name, address and phone number to run ads, however information will be kept confidential. LEGAL BRIEFS Legal Remedies for Domestic Abuse BY BETH ROBINSON AND SUSAN MURRAY . Celia Cuddy’s recent ar- ticle (OITM October, 1997) highlights the very real prob- lem of domestic violence in the gay and lesbian community. According to statistics, gay men and lesbians are more likely to be victims of domes- tic violence than they are to be victims of hate crimes. A study by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs found that domestic violence affects as many as one in three same sex relationships — a rate about equal to the rate of do- mestic violence in the straight community. Abuse within the gay community occurs with as much frequency and severity as in the straight community. Further, domestic violence is the third largest health prob- lem facing the g/ 1 community, after AIDS and substance abuse. A The good news is, if you are in an abusive relationship you do have options and re- sources. First, groups like Men's Health Project and Women Helping Battered Women as well as other local groups which advocate for vic- tims of domestic violence, are there for you. (Men: Don't be deterred by the term women in the title of such organizations. Al- though some groups may make an effort to maintain women-only safe space in their offices, they are equipped to and will serve both men and women who are victims of do- mestic violence.) ‘ Second, the laws and courts do provide some protec- tions for ‘victims of domestic violence, whether gay or straight. Vermont s relief from abuse statute defines abuse to include attempting to cause or causing physical harm, or plac- ing another in fear of imminent serious physical harm. The law defines house- hold members to include per- sons living together or sharing occupancy and persons who have lived together in a sexual relationship —- without regard to their sex or sexual orienta- tion. Under the law, any fam- ily or household member who has been abused may seek a relief from abuse order against another family or household member. Vermont courts can and do issue relief from abuse orders in same-sex abuse situ-‘ ations. A relief from abuse order generally prohibits the abuser from contacting or even com- ing close to the complainant, and provides stiff criminal penalties if violated. (If a court issues a relief from abuse order against you, you should Q try to make contact with the com- plainant. Even if the complain- ant wants to reconcile, you should not go near him or her until the court changes the or- der.) Iudges issuing relief from abuse orders can also award (usually temporarily) posses- sion of a residence; they may require the abuser to tempo- rary support the complainant; and they may also address cus- tody and visitation issues if kids are involved. Typically, a court will is- sue a temporary relief from abuse order immediately upon reviewing an affidavit from the complainant which alleges abuse. (You can obtain the nec- essary forms at any family court, and most police depart- ments will also assist you in preparing the necessary pa- pers if they get involved.) The court will usually schedule a hearing on a perma- nent relief from abuse order within a week or two. At that time both the complainant and the alleged abuser can testify about what happened, and present other evidence, such as the testimony of other wit- nesses. Oftentimes parties are able to agree to a final relief from abuse order, and its spe- cific terms, without the need for a hearing. If you do have a final re- lief from abuse hearing, you should consider consulting le- gal counsel — particularly if you are the defendant. A final relief from abuse order against you may affect your ability to possess a gun, as well as other legal proceedings. Finally, keep in mind that, in addition to the civil re- lief from abuse process, the criminal laws prohibit domes- tic assault, or any kind of as- sault for that matter. Your first priority should always be to protect your own safety, and you should not hesitate to call the police if you feel you are in danger. Susan Murray and Beth Robinson are attorneys at Langrock Sperry 69* Wool in Middlebury, Vermont whose practices include employ- ment issues, family matters, estate planning, personal injury and worker s compensation cases, and general commercial and civil liti- gation. This column features timely information about legal is- sues of interest to our community. We hope to provide information about important laws and court cases that may affect our rights, as well as practical nuts and bolts advice for protecting ourselves and our families. If you if like to see as cover a particular topic, please feel free to write OITM or call us at 388-6356. L Reactions to Homophobia Mixed at VT College Campuses continued from page seven thing,” commented Eggert. ”We endedlup learning more about them than they learned about II US. Five days after a September diversity rally on the campus of Saint Michael's College, Sue Wilson, a Residential Advisor in Lyons Hall, awoke to find the word ’dyke’ scrawled on her door. One of the other doors on her hall read, ”My RA’s a Lesbian.” Wilson's response: ” I announced that on the loud speaker at the rally in front of 250 people. Like no one knew.” Wilson called the incident ”an act of disrespect, ignorance, and cowardice.” The administration at Saint Michael's took immediate action by setting up meetings in the ' dorms to discuss the situation, supporting the residents who were victimized and looking for clues to the identities of the perpetrators. Strong messages denouncing the incident came from both the President's and Dean's offices, threatening expulsion of the guilty parties. In spite of, or possibly because of, the belief that it is greater visibility of the GLBTQ com- munity that is a catalyst for the surge in homophobic crimes, none of the student groups have plans for slowing down. The GLBA at Trinity holds meetings three times each month, one of which includes Allies. Sheets noted many plans for educating the campus community as well as advancing the skills of the group members. ”We are going to try to participate in OUTright’s speaker training, so we can then let faculty know we are available and trained to speak.” St. Michael's Allies group is focusing on broadening the public’s awareness by sponsoring movie nights and social events. The GLBTA at UVM is very active and was pleased that approxi- mately 80 people attended the potluck held to discuss the trouble on campus; many of those attending were Allies. The recently renamed Middlebury Open Queer Alliance is in a regrouping stage. Their meetings are open to anyone, whether or not they are out, and Allies often form a large part of the group. They holdgmovies on Wednesday nights and meetings every Sunday night. According to Eggert, the MOQA~,»like'all the groups, is ”working to help people be more comfortable with who they are.”