Letters to the Editor
Letters
to the Editor
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.
All of a (long) sudden
To wait a decade for something — anything really, but especially something important — is so unrealistic, so beyond one’s time frame. Yet we all waited, some of us even longer than others. I can look back to OITM issues from 1991 and read in some of my earliest articles my frustration, my anger, over being denied marriage rights.
And suddenly, or what appears suddenly, I stood in front of a Justice of the Peace with my partner by my side, and heard those all powerful words “in the power vested in me…” My mind froze; I heard little else.
Afterwards, watching the JP sign the document that said Marriage or Civil Union, I shook from the power of the moment. We did it, we really did! Without any hesitation, without any questions, we planned the day and time, arranged for the Justice of the Peace and the two-night mini-honeymoon in Montreal, the champagne and even two new flutes.
But the reality is this did not happened suddenly; people have been busy. Busy with letters, with collecting donations, with speaking to Legislators and Senators, with their Clergymen and bosses, busy with hard work. While I thought it would never happen, people stood out in cold nights and sang about justice and some of the bravest people outed themselves to thousands listening all over the state on their radios or TVs. Who could live through this past Vermont winter and not feel the power of the passing of the civil union bill? I know that in my home, in my partner’s workplace, in almost everywhere we went, there was discussion and debate and much celebration when we all heard the civil union bill passed!
Perhaps we are lucky because we live in a town where our clerk treated us with all the courtesy extended to any couple. Perhaps we are lucky because our neighbor, the pillar of the church and our town, responded positively to our request to perform our ceremony. We are indeed lucky because our children are ble to call my partner their step-mom, for real now.
We all lived though an education, an awareness, that is truly a gift to all the Vermonters who followed the debate and watched as this political moment was realized.
I stand proud with all of you. I stand grateful for all the hard work done. I stand ready to continue.
Moira Donovan
Waterville
Let’s not even talk about the gay agenda (which only exists in the minds of closed-minded heterosexuals)! Let’s in fact talk about another agenda — the Sheltra Agenda. Representative Nancy Sheltra started STARS - Standing Together And Reclaiming the State - says she’s helping the civil union protesters take back the state, but by her own admission, she’s really helping herself to your money. I quote: Sheltra, a divorced mother of two boys, had hoped to be able to draw a modest salary from STARS...since her legislative salary...is going to run out soon. Makes you think long and hard, doesn’t it?
Dean Pratt
Burlington
Our very own Green Mountain Freedom Band representation [at Pride] was the best ever. Kudos to Peter Thomas, without whom the band would not exist. Peter has spent nearly a decade trying to bring a group of size together to represent our community and state. He has spent many hours making phone calls, writing notes, researching appropriate music, and traveling to other states and Canada to participate in their Pride celebrations, all in the interest of bringing a great band together for us. He often times has spent money out of his own pocket to purchase sheet music and percussion instruments.
Up until this year, the same faithful original members have made a showing in the parade, only to be soon forgotten or barely noticed at all. Peter’s determination and dedication certainly paid off this year. Our Vermont contingency was superb, and combined with the assistance that arranged from our friends from New York, everyone noticed and will remember “the band.”
Thank you, Peter.
Carol Trombley
Williston
Maui congrats
Aloha OITM!. Just a quick note to you GLBT people in Vermont. good for you, lots of hard work paid off. We couldn’t do it in Hawaii (civil unions) but we tried, with lots of hard work. just a big MAHALO from us here in maui. we are hoping it will spread.
with aloha,
John and Steve
CU Study
Civil union is here. What impact will this new legislation have on our partner relationships and our families? What impact will it have on community perceptions of our relationships and families? How are current same-sex couples in Vermont deciding whether to form a “civil union” and what issues is this decision-making process raising for couples themselves? What issues does this legislation raise for bisexual and transgender members of our community? Will “civil union” be required in order for same-sex couples to adopt children or serve as foster parents to children? Should it be required? How might this legislation affect single-parenting families? These are just a few of the questions that civil union legislation may raise for our community.
The past 20 years or so has generated a growing body of research on LGBT relationships and families. This research was reviewed and presented as part of an amicus brief in the case of Baker v. State of Vermont, 170 A. 2d 864 (1999), the case that propelled the development of the current civil union legislation. Of course, available research findings only provide us with the information about our identity, relationship, and family experiences prior to civil union.
As researchers and educators at the University of Vermont who are also members of the LGBT community, we are interested in developing a collaborative research agenda to explore issues of concern to our community regarding civil union legislation. We are interested in moving beyond a comparative approach to research on LGBT relationships and families, and hope to generate a set of research questions based not only on the unique opportunities offered by civil union Legislation but also on our community members’ interests and concerns regarding the impact of civil union on partner relationships and families.
So we want to ask the readers of OITM: If you had the opportunity to survey LGBT individuals, couples, and families around the state about how these are being affected by civil union law, what would you want to know? We will draw on your responses to help us develop an initial research agenda aimed at informing our community of the various ways civil union legislation is affecting our lives and relationships.
Write us c/o OITM or email us at jsweinst@zoo.uvm.edu or dfelicio@zoo.uvm.edu. You may write us anonymously if you wish. However, if you choose to include your name and/or other identifying information we will not disclose this information in any future reports or research .
Thanks and we look forward to hearing from you.
Jackie Weinstock & Diane Felicio
Maryland Thanks
Thank you Governor Dean. Thank you Marina Collins, J.P. Thank you Vermont!
When I heard that there was a State Supreme Court saying that gay Americans deserve the same rights of association as their non-gay kin, I thought “Yea!” When I heard it was Vermont, I thought, “Vermont?! Oh no, not ‘Maple Syrup’ Vermont!”
Well, after researching the Internet, we decided to stay in Burlington, overlooking beautiful Lake Champlain. We visited Barre’s quarries and cemeteries, Shelburne’s marvelous museum and took our picture on the grand steps of the State House and in front of the more modest facade of the State Supreme Court building in Montpelier.
We walked and walked and drank coffee and enjoyed the work of the students of the NECI. Vermont is beautiful and we will be encouraging all of our family, friends and colleagues to visit and spend their vacation dollars in your fair state.
Thank you again Vermont. You did the right thing for the right reasons. May you be blessed with prosperity in return.
Kate and
Kim Meeks-Hall
Baltimore, Maryland
Keeping Promises
Christopher Kaufman’s thoughtful letter to the editor last month concerning Vermonters for Civil Unions raises an important issue.
In particular, Mr. Kaufman chides the newly formed political action committee for supporting Governor Dean. We should be clear about what VCU is and is not. We do not purport to be a multi-issue organization concerned with all aspects of social justice, or even gay rights. Rather, we were formed for the narrow an specific purpose of protecting Vermont’s civil union law by (1) supporting incumbent candidates who voted for the law, (2) backing challengers to incumbents who voted against the law, and (3) working for pro civil union candidates who are running for open seats. Our primary focus, by far, is and will be the Vermont legislature.
This spring, when it became clear that our legislature was unwilling to include same-sex couples in the marriage laws, the freedom to marry community in Vermont struggled with a very difficult decision. Should we fight against the civil union law because it stops short of full equality, or should we support the law and continue to work for full equality? The activists at the core of the freedom to marry movement, who struggled with the question, ultimately concluded that we should support the civil union law as a compromise measure, despite its shortcomings. For one, the law purports to recognize gay and lesbian relationships as equal – an important acknowledgment to all of us. Moreover, we decided that to fight against such an important set of legal protections for gay and lesbian couples and their families because they didn’t go far enough, would be unwise and unfair to the many couples who could benefit from the legal protections the law provides them.
Having made that difficult decision, we then had to commit ourselves to doing everything we could to promote the passage of that law. We mobilized our grassroots, told our stories, and assured our supporters, and those on the fence, that we would be there for them in November. We didn’t say, “We will be there for you in November, unless somebody else who we like better comes along.” (If we had, we may well not have a civil union law today.)
They were there for us, and now it’s our turn to live up to our own promises. That means that, first and foremost, VCU will back every member of the legislature who voted for the civil union law, as well as the Governor and Lieutenant Governor who made it happen.
We fully understand that when considering a broad range of issues, some freedom to marry supports will choose to support candidates other than those backed by VCU. That’s fine. We may agree on 95 percent of the candidates and disagree about five percent. We do urge folks, however, to be mindful of the assurances that many of us as a community made to legislators through the legislative session.
In the meantime, the attacks on the entire gay and lesbian community have intensified. Whatever you do, please get involved. Volunteer for your favorite candidates; join VCU; send money to VCU and supportive candidates; most important, VOTE! Our survival depends on it.
Beth Robinson
Beth Robinson is a member of the legal team who represented the plaintiffs in Baker v Vermont and Secretary of Vermonters for Civil Unions.