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Editor:
Vermonters, Beware! By now, every one of us has received in the mail a flyer from some unknown "Citizens for Community Values" organization in Cincinnati, Ohio, purporting to be an "open letter from the citizens of Hawaii to the citizens of Vermont," and claiming that the sky is going to fall in if Vermont allows same sex couples to marry.
The local Vermont group that is opposed to gay marriage is tiny, and couldn't possibly have the money to send out such an expensive mailing. But the national religious political extremist groups, such as the Christian Coalition and the Family Values Coalition and the Family Research Council, have tons of money. They also know that Vermonters are repulsed by their hateful messages and indeed, by their very names, so don't be surprised if it turns out to be one of these conservative national organizations working behind the scenes here, using scare tactics to convince Vermonters that society as we know it will disintegrate if gay Vermonters are finally allowed the freedom to marry.
I hope this flyer outraged all of us. And I hope it galvanizes each of us to wake up, and realize that our borders are at risk if we don't start speaking out, and working against such hateful fear mongering. NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE COMPLACENT! We're very lucky here in Vermont; we have a gay rights law, and a strong hate crimes law, and a second parent adoption law. But all this may be at risk if the religious political extremists succeed in convincing our straight neighbors and friends that we have some nefarious agenda to take over the society.
Please, please, please, join the volunteers of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force (www.freetomarry.org). Sign onto the Marriage Resolution. Speak to your neighbors, your co-workers, your friends, and your family about this issue. And send money to the Task Force; it is a completely Vermont-based grass roots organization that desperately needs your help and your support. Now is the time to get involved!
Nancy Yannett
Monkton
