February 2000 Out in the Mountains 9

  

Legislative Responsibility at Work in Montpelier

or the past few weeks, I

F have watched in awe as
the members of the
House Judiciary Committee
move carefully through the
early stages of the deliberative
process. They’re arriving early,
staying late, and reading back-
ground material during the lit-
tle bit oftime they do have off.
Each person in that group is
making a valiant effort to
absorb huge amounts of infor-
mation as. a seemingly endless
parade of witnesses passes in
front of them. The questions
they ask of the witnesses show
how carefully they are consid-
ering the larger question before
them — how the State should
respond to the Supreme
Court’s decision in Baker v.
Vermont.

Representative Tom Little of
Shelburne, the chairperson of
the Judiciary Committee, is to
be commended for directing
this process. He walked into
the committee’s first meeting
of the session with evidence
that he had thought of little else
other than this task since the
decision came down on
December 20. The memo he
distributed that day outlines a
thoughtful and thorough
process that he believes will
result in a well-researched and
well-written bill to present to
the full House. Daily he dis-
plays a knack for diplomacy
tempered by a distaste for hate-
mongers and hyperbole.
Representative Little deserves
our community’s gratitude, no
matter what the result of the
committee’s deliberation, for
overseeing a task of great mag-
nitude.

As Vice-Chair of the com-
mittee, Bill Lippert of
Hinesburg is riding shotgun on
the process. Lippert has a

strong and congenial relation-
ship with each member of the
committee and their respect for
him is evident. He says he is
grateful to be a part of this
committee as it works on this
issue. He is happy to be there
to offer a perspective on the
matter that no one else on the
committee has — that of an out

gay man.
l’ve been amazed at
Representative Lippert’s

judgement; he has an awesome
ability to speak up at just the
right time and with just the
right words. He remains calm
and cool — at least on the out-
side —as some of the witnesses
pump the committee full of
sugar-coated homophobia. He
allows those people enough
rope to hang themselves, then,
when necessary, politely kicks
the chair out from under the
unsuspecting individual with a
few carefully chosen words or
just the right question.

The chair-kicking isn’t
reserved for Lippert, however.
The committee’s
Representative Michael Vinton
of Colchester, took my breath
away one afternoon as he
pinned down David Coolidge
of.The Catholic University,
who flew in to testify about the
“destabilizing” domino effect
gay marriage would have upon
“conventional marriage” and
culture as we know it.
Coolidge’s charm was insidi-
ous. During a break, he compli-
mented our paper and let me
know that he read it regularly.
His congeniality had us all
chatting, regardless of our
positions on the issue. He was
a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but
he didn’t manage to fool
Representative Vinton.

Having heard enough of the
sweetly veiled hate rhetoric,

secretary, '

Vinton asked Coolidge, “Are
you saying that homosexuals
aren’t good citizens?” Vinton, a

former state trooper, spoke‘

emotionally of listening to his
friends’ prejudice-filled lan-
guage as they offered opinions
on the issue of gay marriage,
assuming his position would
parallel theirs. He made it clear
to the witness that he could see
no difference in the open big-
otry of his friends at the local
bar and the message he was
hearing from Coolidge and the
like-minded witnesses he had
listened to the day before.

Each of the other members
of the House Judiciary
Committee has at some point
posed an excellent question or
comment at one time or anoth-
er. Representative Bill
Mackinnon of Norwich loses
no opportunity to say how
wrong it is that people whose
civil rights are being violated
are having to wait for a reme-
dy.

In a situation many would
use only for political posturing
or meaningless rhetoric, under
the pressure of crushing
assumptions, they are taking
very seriously their duty to lis-
ten and to deliberate carefully.
They are a remarkable group of
people.

There are others in the
General Assembly who arejust
as remarkable, but in a differ-
ent way: again, in the face of
political generalization about
What Everyone Wants, they are
going out of their way to sup-
port equal rights for the GLBT
community. Senator Richard
McCormack of Bethel has pro-
claimed from the beginning of
the session that amending the
marriage statutes to include
same-sex couples is the right
thing to do. On a recent edition

subscribe  

HOW.

Subscribe to Out in the Mountains, Vermont’s forum

for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues, and

stay connected.

Enjoy the convenience of delivery to your door (in
an envelope), and also have this informative monthly

sent as a gift.

Support your CO m ITI U n newspaper today!

  
 

VERMON1’$ FORUM FOR §.3BiA!§ :6AY ESSQKSJA 'ANO Tl?)-XNSGSNDER E39085

j UT IN THE Mo rs

of VPR’s Switchboard, he did
impressive verbal battle with
Senator Vince llluzzi of
Orleans, who would have us
settle for domestic partnership
benefits.

Representative Dean Corren
gathered tri-partisan support
for a bill he introduced in the
House that, if passed, would
include same-sex couples in
marriage. He called it the

“remedy for what may be the"

last great instance of legal dis-
crimination based solely on
bigotry.”

Representative William
Suchmann of Chester, in a let-
ter to the editor, exhorted the
legislature to approve same-
sex marriage with some of the
most heartfelt and effective
language l’ve heard yet. “Yes, I
am uncomfortable seeing two
adults of the same gender
openly displaying affection.
But that is my problem. I have
a much bigger problem,
though, with a community that

passes judgement on a specific
group of God’s children and
deems them unfit to share in an
institution that draws its
strength from compromise and
unselfish love.”

All in all, it comes back to
something Chief Justice
Amestoy said in the Baker
decision. Allowing us true
equality is, “when all is said
and done, a recognition of our
common humanity.”

This realization has already
dawned on many of our law-
makers. For many, it was what
Representative Suchman called
“a no-brainer.” Others have
come around as they were
made aware of the personal
face on the issue before them.
Still others still remain to be
enlightened. That is the task
before our community. V

Golden Threads

‘V  ' V ‘._‘_I‘''‘  ’

Discreet Contact Publication for
Lesbians over 50, and younger.
(802) 848-8002 GoLDEN1REDoao1.com

Sample copy 85 US/Canada . Other countries $10
http:/ I mcu&>crs.aol.ooml goldcntredl 1ndex.htm

P. O Box 65. Richford. VT 05476-0065



 

I: A Communigl Owned Natural Foods Market &De1i
specializing in Organic Choices!

BRATTLEBORO

  F0 lD@ 30°0P

Open to

MONDAY-SATURDAY 9-9 SUNDAY 9-8 ' 2 MAIN ST ' BRATILEBORO, VERMONT

f/Je

Publir

your name
address

city state zip
email phone

CI 2 years ($35) Cl l year ($20) CI low income ($|0)

send gift to

address

city state zip
email phone

Cl 2 years ($35) D I year ($20) El low income ($l0)

 

Cl Payment enclosed
Cl Please bill me later
Cl Additional Contribution

$ _j (Thank you!)

Make checks payable to
Mountain Pride Media

P.O. Box I078
Richmond, VT 05477
p. (802) 434-6486
f. (802) 434-7046
oitrn@together.net
www.vtpride.org

  

ur lN ATHEO Mouiirtins
published by
Mountain Pride Media

7

J