Aromatherapy
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20”

Marty Pottenger:
Life imitates Art
imitates Life

  
   
  
 

 

AND TRANS

 OUNTAINS

 

Volume XV, Number 2

 

March 2000

“Civil Domestic Union” to See Action

BY BARBARA DOZETOS

he House Judiciary

I Committee may pre-

sent its legislative

answer to the Supreme Court’s

Baker decision by the end of
February.

The Senate is committed to
returning the domestic partner-
ship bill to the House for final
approval this session only if
they have it by the time Town
Meeting break ends on March
13.

To meet this deadline, the

House panel must vote the bill
out of committee with time for
the House Ways and Means
Committee to work on the bill
and have it ready to announce
for floor debate no later than
Feb. 25. Tentative plans for
House floor debate are for Feb.
29 and Mar. 1.

House Judiciary Committee
chair Tom Little addressed the
House Republican caucus on
Feb. 22, in preparation for the
coming debate. Although he
hopes to see the bill become
law this session, he told the

caucus, “Our allegiance is to

Dean Makes Apology

    

.- r .4 2 I . . - . -
Speaking to a small group of visitors on AIDS Awareness Day,
Governor Howard Dean apologized for his now infamous “uncom-
fortable” comment. He said the remark was not intended as the
slam many GLBT people perceived. He declined to go on record
supporting inclusion of gays and lesbians in marriage statutes.

AIDS Awareness at capitol

BY KERRY SLORA

gathered to network, meet the governor, and voice support for
HIV/AIDS legislative issues at the Statehouse on Wednesday,
February l6.

Representative Bill Lippert of Hinesburg introduced the group to the
House during its morning session.

Participants attended committee meetings, and Governor Dean met
with the group to answer questions and hear concerns about the most
immediate HIV/AIDS issues up for legislation. During the early after-
noon, Dean’s office filled to near capacity with members and supporters
of the HIV/AIDS community, and participants touched on four primary
concernszi methadone treatment, HIV testing of sex offenders, confiden-
tiality of medical records, and fair pricing of prescription drugs.

Addressing the state’s heroin problem, Dean openly supported the
needle distribution program of Vermont CARES and the use of altema—
tive drugs by drug treatment facilities. “I will never support having a
methadone clinic in Vermont,” said Dean, calling the negative effects of
such an action too extreme. A concern that the cost of HIV prescription
drugs is not being dealt with led Dean to respond quickly “on the con-

_ trary,” pointing out legislation currently under consideration in the
House.

One woman, who asked to remain anonymous, spoke to the governor
about her experiences with breach of confidentiality and asked Dean to
continue supporting efforts to protect identities of people living with the
virus.V

the quality of legislation, not an
arbitrary deadline.”

Although the bill being
crafted is referred to as domes-
tic partnership, Little’s com-
mittee is considering other
names for it. He reminded fel-
low Republicans of a comment
made in the Feb. 1 public hear-
ing that “domestic partnership
sounds like you’re asking
someone to clean your house.”

Current indications are that
the new legal status created by
this legislation will be called
“civil domestic union.”

Several questioned the wis-

 

www.mountoinpridemedio.org

in the House This Month

dom of moving forward with-
out more public input and com-
plained the committee wasn’t
responding to majority opinion.

“If we made all decisions
based on majority opinion,”
said Little, “civil rights would-
n’t be where they are today.”

Rep. Nancy Sheltra of Derby
Line said regardless of what it
is called, it is still too close to
marriage for her liking.

“I was raised on a farm,”
said Sheltra. “When it walks
like a duck and quacks like a
duck, I know it’s a duck.”

Across the hall, the

Democratic caucus, Little’s
reception was warmer. As he
rose to offer the majority party
a similar briefing, the group
gave him a standing ovation;
they later voiced appreciation

‘ of the work he and his commit-

tee have done on this issue.

House Judiciary Committee
Vice Chair Bill Lippert of
Hinesburg addressed the cau-
cus next.

“I want to remind you all,”
said Lippert, “while we delib-
erate, gay and lesbian couples

LEGiSi.i3il"lOl‘l 2- P4

3 IDS/HIV care and prevention advocates from across the state \

Progressive

By BARBARA Doziaros

Vermont political -
. _ party goals
include full civil

rights for gays and lesbians has
nominated its first candidate
ever for the office of governor.

Anthony Pollina, a senior pol-
icy advisor for Vermont Public
Interest Research Group, is the
Vermont Progressive Party’s
gubernatorial candidate for
2000. He has been active in
grassroots organizing, activism,
and non-profit work for nearly
20 years.

“There’s no doubt in my mind
that giving gays the right to
marry is the right thing to do
from both the legal and the
moral point of view,” said
Pollina, who objects to the so-
called incremental approach to
the granting of civil rights.
“Separate but equal is complete-
ly unacceptable.” He said con-
tinued public discussion and
education is the key to bringing
the majority of Vermonters to
that same conclusion.

Although he considers the
current legislative process itself
and most legislators “very
open,” he doesn’t think the exec-
utive branch can claim the same.
“I don’t feel as if the current
-govemor is that kind of decision
maker,” he said. “If he’s talking
to the GLBT community 15 min-
utes once a year, who is he talk-
ing to? That’s just unacceptable.
I think the gay and lesbian com-
munity will find that I am not
only open to their issues, but I’ll
be consistent and lead on them.”

Pollina said he would support

._.g¢_,»—

to Run

  

For Governor

Left to Right: Representative Dean Corren, candidate for governor
Anothony Pollina, and Representative David Zuckerman, all members of
the Progressive Party. 0

development of methadone treat-
ment for heroin addicts in
Vermont — a sticking point
between current Governor
Howard Dean and many health
care, drug treatment, and
HIV/AIDS treatment profession-
als for years. '

“The fact that people may
have to leave their families or
travel out of state to get the treat-
ment they need just exacerbates
the problem,” «Pollina said. He
disagreed with Dean that twelve-
step programs are the best way
to break the heroin habit.

“That’s a somewhat elitist
attitude: ‘You’ve gotten yourself
into a bad situation, now go get
yourself out of it,”’ he said.

In accepting the unanimous
nomination from his party on
February 13, Pollina said, “We
will be doing what no party has
ever done before: run a winnable
race for governor without the

influence of big money.”

“Mr Campaign Finance
Reform” is the label given
Pollina by Governor Howard
Dean, acknowledging the new
candidate’s central role in the
adoption of 1997 law Pollina
called a start toward “taking the
money out of politics and putting
people back in.”

As the founder and first direc-
tor of the farm and rural advoca-
cy organization Rural Vermont,
Pollina has first—hand experience
with helping people find their
voices in government. In that
position, Pollina said he experi-
enced a watershed moment at a
meeting between a group of
farmers and then-Administration
Secretary John Dooley.

“The farmers sat down and
talked to Dooley,” said Pollina.

“The farmers left that meeting

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