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VT's Great Gay American
VT's Great Gay American
by John Scagliotti
Down
the dirt road from my farm a good friend of mine is buried in an old graveyard.
Ron Squires and I were both young and idealistic when
we met back in the 1970s at a commune in Guilford. He was quick to tell
me how proud he was to be an eighth generation Vermonter. And just as
quickly he told me he was gay.
In those days most folks didn’t come
right out and say it. But Ron Squires was a surprisingly candid young
man. He was also a self-appointed guardian of Vermont traditions.
Ronnie baked apple pies for the Grange benefits
and took kids from our school into dilapidated cemeteries to help clean
them up. One of those graveyards is where he's buried now.
So you can imagine my dismay when I picked
up the local newspaper recently with the headline stating that Ron's grave
had been defaced. The front-page picture of his mom, Shirley Squires,
standing bravely with her fingers slightly touching her son's headstone,
was heartbreaking. When Shirley told the police about the vandalism, they
asked if Ron had any enemies. She could think of no one.
The vandal had carved anti-gay graffiti
into Ron's gray Guilford slate gravestone.
Just last month I had occasion to remember
Ron's courage during a discussion over dinner with friends the day New
Jersey Governor James McGreevey announced that he would be resigning his
office. The Governor went on to call himself a Gay American.
I thought it was pretty sad that he used
that term only at the time of scandal. But had he earlier in life come
clean about his sexual identity I'm certain the chances of his being Governor
would have been pretty slim.
And that brings me back to Ronnie. He was
also a politician. In fact, he became the first openly gay one elected
to our Vermont legislature, but it hadn't been easy for Ron.
Had Ronnie stayed dishonest about his true
identity he too might have gone further in his political career like the
Governor. Except many gay people like Ronnie who came out early in their
careers didn't just roll over. No, they did the important political work
that was needed to change the conditions that would make it possible for
younger gays today to accomplish more of their dreams. As soon as Ron
was in the legislature, he spoke eloquently on the need to end discrimination.
With Ron's voice ringing in their ears, the legislators passed Vermont's
anti-gay discrimination bill in 1992, the fourth state in the nation to
do so. Ron passed away a few months after that major victory.
Already there are plans afoot by the many
friends he left behind to fix the tombstone. And well they should because
under that slate slab rests a good Vermonter and truly a great Gay American.
John Scagliotti is a radio broadcaster and documentary filmmaker.
He created the PBS TV series In the Life and is the producer
of the Emmy Award-winning film Before Stonewall. He lives in
Guilford.