'WILB HQ75 .0971 UT IN THE MO VOLUME XIII, NUMBER 9 6”"d‘i)1TM OP-ED V Bill and Monica AGAIN? PROGENY V Going on Daycare Hiatus ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT V The Kingdom's ' Compost Gallery DYKE PSYCHE V Being an Old Lesbian A Lordy, Lordy, Look Who’s 40! and Honey, the Waitress. Burlington drag celebrity Cherie » Tartt was properly “roasted” at her . fortieth birthday on September 13 , at135 Pearl by her immediatefam 3 - ily and fabulous friends: (I. to r. Prune Danish, Mrs. Tartt, Margurite LeMay, Yolanda, Cherie Tartt, un- ~ known woman, Cherie Crisp(p), _ .TAlNS OCTOBER 1998 _ i'\ I WWW.VTPRlDE.ORG L?‘ ‘ : ., 93 .$ ¥\~"l.~§‘.l sxexx ‘am _ 6 6 9 not ~’ *.:tt%i?if;!%.£t....‘.‘...§?.‘.r?.E:?.‘£i.‘;‘?.“.+~i“ 35‘ N‘ N A {E I)! " v» TheGay Vote t— s A 3a. \ ‘’ _§\t..?t1Ztt’'_i‘‘(.}R fies At;;%B. MONTPELIER —This could be a pivotal elec- tion year for Vermont's gay and lesbian popu- lation. Stark choices are offered in some of the statewide contests and in several cases the choices are between a proven friend of the community and someone who is at best non- committal on important issues and at worst outwardly hostile. And then there are the 180 legislative races across the state, contests that this year include three out-and-proud candidates. The campaigns for the House and Senate carry far greater potential for gay men and lesbi- ans, however, because it is the Legislature in 1999 and 2000 that may well be called on to decide one of the most divisive issues of our time: gay marriage. Normally, the campaign for US Senate would top the agenda. But this isn't a normal year. Sen. Patrick Leahy, the in- cumbent Democrat, is up for re— election. Republicans - with the help of some other interested folks - nominated amiable dairy farmer Fred Tuttle. That means there won't be much of a debate on any issues this fall, let alone on gay and lesbian concerns. Both candidates are generally considered friends of the "Hmzi Eldridge, Executive Director of Outright Vermont, (center) dismisses the needs of GLBTQ youth with Vermont State Representative Bill Lippert—D, Hiuesburg (left) and State Senate candidate Tim Palmer-D, Burlington (right) atafimdraiserfor Vermont Stale Auditor Ed Flaizigaiz-D. community — Tuttle has appeared with those fabulous drag queens Cherie Tartt and Yolanda on several occasions, after all. The unfortunate part about the non—campaign for the glbt com- munity, though, is that it will offerno real chance to question Leahy on» his record, which includes a vote in favor of the De- GAY vore, p26 ELCTION '98 Ignore It At Your Own Risk BY TIM PALMER l I lhe religious right is on the verge of its greatest victory ever. They can do it without you doing anything. In fact, that is what they are counting on. That is the only wa_y they can do it. Most voters are so sickened by what has happened in Wash- ington over the last year that they are not going to vote. Most experts predict that voter turnout in November will be the low- est ever. Some estimates have only 30% of registered voters ac- Giving Back to the Community: Physician's Computer Company BY CHRIS TEBBETTS John Canning and Jay Schuster, like everyone these days, are busy. In addi- tion to the demands ofday-to- day business, they are moving the offices of their Physician's Computer Company (PCC) from Colchester, where they have been for the last five years, into Winooski’s Champlain Mill. An appoint- ment to talk about their long history of contributions to the Burlington area community is squeezed in before Canning takes off for Montreal and Schuster for San Francisco. Begun sixteen years ago as a college project (”because we didn't like our summer jobs,” says Canning), PCC now works with medical offices in ’’They improve the over- all community, ” he says, ”l7y giving us lots more well adjusted people.” 40 states, providing software, hardware and technical sup- port. Asked for their titles — Canning is President and Schuster is Vice President — both seem reluctant to answer. They are quick to de—empha— size the hierarchy of their firm. ”lt’s relatively informal here,” they say, almost in unison. Likewise, on the subject ofgiv- ing back to the community, they do not seem anxious to toot their own horns. Regard- less, it is clear that PCC has made it a priority to share their time, equipment and profits in the gay community and else- where. One of their focuses is on the arts. Most recently PCC has sponsored "Angels in America” at the University of PCC, p23‘ tually voting in the fall elec- tions. With less than half of all eligible voters registered, that means 15% of Americans over the age of 18 will be deciding our future — your future. That means‘8% constitutes the ma- jority. And, guess who is going to make sure that their voters vote. That's right. Your future is in the hands of Pat Robertson, Pat Buchanan, Phyllis Schlafly, Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond. If you can sleep soundly tonight af- ter reading that statement, your denial needs to be checked. You may try to com- fort yourself with the thought that “that’s in Washington — Vermont is different.” Think about that again. Here in Vermont, people who oppose lesbian and gay WHY vore, p22 Gay Marriage MONTPELIER _~-- The Vermont Supreme Court is expected to hear 7ar‘guments thisgmonth on whether ~s’a‘me-sexmarriageg legatin this I j " ; The court has notlssued its schedule for its October term, yet, fbutitheicase was listed on the courts backup Schedule for last “ month. Cases that are on backup but are not heard one month gen- - erallyare put on the formal sched- Ul8l,h_é'vfollowing month. Three couples ‘~’ one gay Va_ncl_‘two lesbian - are suing the {state and severaltowns arguing Vthatjthey should be allowed to -marry. Each of.them applied for a - 7 marriage license from their town ;. clerk and were denied. ‘ » - .—:,The 'couples,1lhrough their I I MARRIAGE, p4