letters UITM, P0 Box 1070, Richmond, III 05477-1078 III‘ —oitm@togetlIeI-.net Out in the Mountains welcomes your letters. Although we will withhold names from printing upon request, the letter must be accompanied by a verifiable name and address in order to be considered for publication. We try to print every letter we receive, but reserve the right to edit for space and clarity. Letters are also subject to the editorial policy stated in the masthead. Clarification and Corrections Editor: I am writing on behalf of the Same-Sex Domestic Violence subcommittee of the Chittenden County Domestic Violence Task Force. We want to respond to several pieces of inaccurate information related to victim ser- vices in “Finding a Way Out: Part II of a Guide for Victims of Domestic Violence.” First, Ms. Miller states that the Same-Sex Domestic Violence subcommittee has a list of recom- mended therapists. While we can provide a limited referral list, we do not recommend one therapist over another. Individuals can also contact Women Helping Battered Women for this list of referrals. Second, Ms. Miller states that the Vermont Center for Victim Crime Services provides coun- seling. While the center does pro- vide some compensation, up to $50 per session, for counseling, they do not provide counseling services. As Ms. Miller_states, eligibility for compensation requires that the victim contact * the police and that the police find probable cause. Our final point is about the Abuse Prevention Act. We want to clarify that this Act does apply to casually dating couples who are under 18 years old, and to encourage anyone who feels that they need a Relief from Abuse Order to contact their local domestic violence shelter at 800- 228-7395, your county courts, or the 24-hour hotline for obtaining Relief from Abuse Orders at 800- 540-9990. Kim Selig - Chittenden County Domestic’ Violence Task Force Burlington, VT Sharing Mary's Pain Editor: On May 4, 1999, Mary Schroyer wrote a letter to news- papers around the state concern- ing the hate mail she received due to her public support of “tra- ditional marriage.” I am dis- turbed by her receipt of hate mail and do not in any way support this type of behavior. We should all be able to openly and respect- fully discuss our differences on issues. V I certainly know how Mary must have felt when she read her mail, because, as a member of the gay and lesbian community, I feel the same way almost every day when I read the letters to the editor that continually degrade my lifestyle choices. It is very painful to read letters written by people who do not know me, but yet condemn me. Last Sunday, a letter in the paper stated, “Every great civilization’s destruction was directly preceded by wide- spread homosexual promiscuity and its acceptance.” I am certain- ly not out to destroy our society. Just like other productive mem- bers of our state, I work, I pay taxes, and I am very involved in the community, both gay and straight. Not only do anti-gay letters to the Editor appear regularly, but some newspapers themselves support anti-gay positions as well. On April 25, 1999, the Burlington Free Press wrote an editorial supporting the position that gays and lesbians should not be granted the right to legally marry. They propose that we should accept something similar to marriage, but not quite mar- riage itself. That reminded me of the doctrine of “separate but equal” (which was subsequently struck down by the courts) in the treatment of African Americans back in the 1950s. Then, it was okay to grant one group of people different civil rights than another A group of people. I had thought that we had come a long way since then, but it seems that the Free 'Press is advocating that we return to those separatist values. It is most disturbing to me that we are considered second class citizens by one of the largest newspapers in Vermont. 1 hope that Mary and others will think about, and equally con- demn, the hate letters that appear _ in newspapers across Vermont almost every day attacking my lifestyle and who I am. Virginia Renfrew Montpelier, VT Don’t Need to Clean the Gene Pool Editor: The Food and Drug Administration is trying to pre- vent gay men from having chil- dren. At its Human Tissue Seminar on April 8, 1999 the FDA announced proposed regulations which would make it illegal for gay men to be spenn donors, block medical assistance for infertility and almost eliminate the possibility of having biologi- cal children. Outlining the regu- lations was the FDA’s chief architect of the proposal, Ruth Solomon, MD, Director of the Human Tissue Program, Ofiice of Blood and Research and Review, Center for Biologics Evaluation and research (CBER) of the FDA. The regulations, due to be finalized by the end of 1999, will do two things. First gay men would be banned, from being anonymous sperm donors. Under these regulations heterosexual men may have multiple sexual partners and be acceptable. However, gay men in a long-term mutually monogamous relation- ship would not. Current fertility industry standards require anony- mous sperm donations to be frozen and quarantined for six months, then donors are retested for HIV before their sperm is released for inseminations. The I-HV window period; the time after infection until an HIV anti- body test is positive, is one to three months. In 14 years of using the HIV anitbody test, the Centers for Disease Control could only point to one case of a man who appeared healthy and went beyond this window period. "He did not turn positive for 2 years. He was heterosexual and specialized tests conclusively showed he was infected byqhis continued on page six I A borsea (Color. OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS — JUNE 1999 — 3 |NS|D_E lllllll SO0IIOIIS Health & Wellbeing ................. .. I 4 Gayity ..................................... ..23 Arts & Entertainment ............. ..29 IIBIHIHIIIGIIIS A II I ll M N Letters ..................................... ..3 '|'|vave| 0..-... ....................................... -4 World News Briefs ..................... ..5 PAGE 36 health source .......................... ..l8 the source .............................. ..l9 community compass ............... .35 calendar ................................. ..34 00IlIIIII|S Skeeter Bites ............................ ..8 Crow's Caws .............................. ..9 Legal Briefs ............................. ..l I Progeny .................................. ..|2 20 Something ......................... .. I 3 Dyke Psyche ............................ .. I 6 Faith Matters .......................... .. I7 Stonehenge to Stonewall ......... ..22 Cybershark ............................. ..38 ‘Wfletlier you're Buying or seffing Kealfistate for tfie personai attention and’ professional service you xfeserve A Call Carrie gefiran 213 Main St., Brattleboro, Vermont 05301 STEPPING SIONEI (802) 257-1111 or (800) 882-6364 REALESTATE ha!'1'~'cl-bI¢o)WI'i‘ glass ' aromabh-ifrafff cafidlriis sc=.en=ic v=.ern'rio1‘1'=ta fh@I'a@gI'afh8 Taft ('>orr‘i':.e'rs Shoffing 6/z¢'I'l’tv-Kl", No. 37 Willisbon - 873-8891 By subscribing to Out in the Mountains, not only will you get delivery to your mailbox (in an envelope), you also underwrite the rising costs of publishing and distributing the newspaper. We welcome any additional contributions you can make to support your community forum. name address town state zip email phone Ell year ($20) CI Contribution 5 Cl 2 years ($35) (thanks!) Make checks payable to Mountain Pride Media CI low income (S I 0) PO Box I078 ' Richmond, VT 05477-I078 subscribei