RU12? Community Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Vermont

*Family Group Event Reminder*

Just a reminder that RU12? will be hosting our first family group event on Wednesday, March 10th from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm at the RU12? Community Center. We are excited to have Cathy Resmer, a Seven Days web editor, writer and queer parent join us to talk about her experiences with second parent adoption and what it's like to be a queer parent. RU12? will provide pizza and drinks for this event, and childcare will also be available if you would like to bring your kids with you! We ask you to please RSVP to sharon@ru12.org if you would like to come and if you need childcare. This will be a great opportunity for LGBTQ families to meet each other and voice their ideas for future LGBTQ family events. We look forward to seeing you there!

Federal Grant for Transgender Aging Network!!

On Wednesday, February 10th the White House announced the award of the first-ever, federally funded national resource center devoted to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues. This announcement came with a 3-year contract to a coalition that includes the nationally known nonprofit organization For Ourselves: Reworking Gender Expression (FORGE), which directs the Transgender Aging Network (TAN).

TAN is one of ten organizational partners that will be working with lead agency Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) in accomplishing the objectives of the U.S. Administration on Aging's new Technical Assistance Resource Center: Promoting Appropriate Long Term Care Supports for LGBT Elders (Resource Center). SAGE is widely recognized as the country's oldest and largest agency committed to serving LGBT elders. 

TAN will be focusing on helping ensure that the diverse needs and viewpoints of transgender elders are visible in all Resource Center training and technical assistance materials.

The Resource Center has three mandates:

• Educate mainstream aging services organizations about the existence and special needs of LGBT elders
• Sensitize LGBT organizations about the existence and special needs of older adults
• Educate LGBT individuals about the importance of planning ahead for future long-term care needs

The Resource Center plans on achieving these goals by developing a comprehensive, interactive, web-based clearinghouse with resources practical for all three audiences (i.e. mainstream aging services organizations, LGBT organizations and LGBT individuals); a train-the-trainer curriculum and national LGBT aging training corps; in-person trainings and webinars; best practice publications; consumer educational materials and campaigns; a listserv to provide professionals with ongoing technical assistance and support; dedicated phone and email technical assistance portals; and a range of social media vehicles to entice users to remain in contact with the Resource Center and grow along with it. The Resource Center plans to dedicate special outreach and attention to low-income, rural, transgender, limited-English speaking LGBT elders and LGBT elders of color.

LGBTQA Elder Group Potluck Brunch

The Center has received feedback that many events for the LGBTQA community are geared towards younger people.  We don't have a definition of who is a younger person and who is an elder person, but if you are a person who has a hard time finding events to go to and people to connect with, come to the Potluck Brunch!  It will be held Sunday, February 28th from 12:30 to 2:30 at the RU12? Community Center.  Bring your favorite snack to share at this laid-back social gathering. For more information or to RSVP, contact Dawn at Dawn@ru12.org or call 860-7812.  We hope to see you there!

The Event of the Season

GLAM will be hosting a Malebox Party!!

So come stop by 1/2 Lounge between 7p-11p and tell that someone special something nice!

We will provide the music and entertainment and you just show up and have a FUNHOUSE time!

 
 

GLAM Events

Tonight come strikeout with GLAM at Spare Time! We will be there for 7p, but if you need or want a ride

come to RU12? Community Center for 6:30p and carpool!

 

Plus don't forget to join GLAM on Sunday, February 21st at 7p for the Malebox party at 1/2 Lounge!!

Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey presents State of the Movement address

2010 February 5

 creatingchange2010

Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey presented the annual State of the Movement address today at Creating Change. What follows below is the full text of Carey’s speech:

Photo by Beck Starr

Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey presented the annual State of the Movement address today at Creating Change. What follows below is the full text of Carey’s speech:

A year ago, when we came together, we were digesting a couple of high-profile losses but at the same time we were filled with hope, our minds filled with possibility and promise.

Our sweat, votes, money and work had helped elect a new president and a more pro-LGBT Congress and finally it seemed we would be building a solid floor of legal equality from which we could reach the sky of freedom.

The Bush-Cheney years were behind us. Change was coming. It was no longer a question of “if” but“when.”

And for those of us who had been fighting for so long — and that’s every one of us in this room and millions of others not with us here today — “when” was sounding pretty good.

We believed…and why shouldn’t we?

He said, “I’m running for president to build an America that lives up to our founding promise of equality for all — a promise that extends to our gay brothers and sisters.”

We believed.

He said, “It’s wrong to have millions of Americans living as second-class citizens in this nation … I will never compromise on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBT Americans.”

We agreed. We were eager to see what a “fierce advocate” could do.

But now, it’s a year into this new administration, a year into this new Congress. There have been glimmers of the advocate, but certainly not fierceness.

Speeches aren’t change, change is more than words; change is action.

If we really are all created equal…if it really doesn’t matter who we are or what we look like…or who we love…then it’s time this president and this Congress take concrete steps to ensuring that equality.

And since the president and Congress brought up the topic of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the last week, let’s start there. If the administration does, in fact, implement soon what it now states it can do under existing law, the lives of thousands of service members will begin to improve and the witch hunts will end. And, I thank the president for showing leadership in taking these steps. But, let me be clear, a yearlong study does not a fierce advocate make. A year is too long to wait and it’s time the president use the executive branch to stop these discharges now while the military and Congress move to bring this shameful and discriminatory chapter in U.S. history to an end.

Mister President, the ball’s in your court. You have the opportunity to go down in history as one of the few presidents who acted decisively to move human rights forward. Now, while we have criticized the president, we must hold equally if not more accountable the members of Congress who stand in the way of legal equality. Their hands are not clean.

Photo by Beck Starr

I’ve been out and gay in America for 27 years, since I was a teenager. I know change doesn’t happen fast. But happen it must.

We’re in two wars, facing an economic crisis, we’re attending to health care reform, there’s climate change…things take time we’re told…look at the calendar, we’ll get to you.

Well first, I say, those issues concern us too, and I am looking at the calendar…and it’s 2010.

2010.

Should freedom have to wait any longer?

Should equality be something we schedule? Should we only act to end blatant discrimination when it’s politically convenient?

No.

That’s why we’ve come together this weekend.

Because the change we seek must come from us, from our strategic work together. We thought we were finally going to have leadership that would stand with us, work with us and for us…but that hasn’t fully happened yet, and so it’s still up to us to push, and in fact, to lead.

We are agents of change. We have the power to compel change.

And while this struggle for change has become a political struggle, one used to divide people and turn groups in our country against each other…to rally electoral and political favor…if you step outside this entrenched political battle…at its most basic, this is about our humanity, our equality and the integrity of the country.

And when it comes to equality, full equality, you either have it or you don’t.

And we don’t.

Last June, we asked people to send us letters that we then delivered to the president, and when a schoolteacher wrote that she has to hide the fact she has a partner and two kids, and that she could lose her job if anyone finds out, she is not equal. We are not equal.

Equality is a moral imperative…because who we are and whom we love should not be the subject of political debate, should not be put to the political whim of voters and our lives should not be on trial.

There can be no compromise on civil rights, no piecemeal human rights.

These rights must exist unabridged and we stand with all those who seek the promise of equality and who still struggle for its fulfillment.

And I suggest, to those who say don’t push so hard, just wait — that sounds like advice from someone already enjoying the benefits of equality. Someone who can marry who they want; someone who can serve their country freely; someone who can enter a nursing home without having to go back into the closet; someone who doesn’t have to face the indignities of filling out form after form, deciding if they will cross off “mother” or “father” and write in a new word just to reflect the reality of our families.

I know the pain of how this invisibility affects our children.

And to that person asking us to wait? A little reminder — there is no such thing as being just a little equal.

What has gotten lost in Washington and communities across the nation is that this is not a political question.

This is a moral question.

Justice and freedom are not just American promises or LGBT promises, they are human rights.

And when the president says he is committed to equal rights and Congress takes an oath to uphold the founding principles of our nation — that doesn’t mean some rights, that means all rights.

Non-negotiable.

It’s 2010. We’ve waited long enough.

And if we don’t leave here this weekend, together, pushing, focused on real change, last year’s “when” will become “if” once again…

Compelling change to happen is, as it has always been, up to us.

And, honestly, I take faith in that…because I’ve seen what we can do when we’re together…when we dedicate ourselves…when we decide we’re not going to settle for anything other than what we deserve.

So, while we wait for action — for the president to move beyond words and into bold actions and for Congress to find its moral compass — we’re going to keep pushing and keep working, and much of this change will happen in our own cities and states.

The work’s not easy. It takes sacrifice both personally and for our families. We in this room know that. We’ve seen long days…long nights. And while at the end of those days, there will be wins and losses. Regardless, we keep moving forward. We keep working together. We keep gaining more support and we keep getting stronger.

No matter what happens along the way, the dignity of our lives will not be denied.

That’s what the pundits missed in their post-election discussion and analysis of Maine. That one ballot measure wasn’t a reflection on our movement or our goals. Maine wasn’t definitive or a turning of the tide any more than it turns out California was. Do our losses hurt — particularly for families in Maine, California and elsewhere? Absolutely. Does it mean we are giving up, allowing a temporary loss to stand in the way of history? Absolutely not.

This last year, we gained marriage equality in Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C. We successfully fought back attempts to roll back protections in places like Gainesville and Kalamazoo. And in cities large and small, like Salt Lake City and Redding, Pa., we ensured nondiscrimination protections for thousands more.

Our grassroots support is strong and growing. Our progress on the local and state levels is definitively forward not backward.

And mark my words: We will regain marriage in California and Maine.

My grandmother has had a magnet on her refrigerator for as long as I can remember and I keep a copy in my wallet. It says, “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” Well into her 90s, this philosophy has served her well and our movement too.

We’ve seen that when we come together, when we focus, when we roll up our sleeves and dig in…

We create change.

In the past decade, through our work together —

• The number of states recognizing same-sex relationships increased from two to 11 plus the District of Columbia.
• The number of states outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation increased from 11 to 21.
• The number of states outlawing discrimination based on gender identity and expression jumped from just one state to 13.
• And, we have elected hundreds of pro-LGBT candidates and defeated those who are not our friends.

And in just this past year, through our work together:

• We finally passed and got signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Act, which for the first time in our nation’s history explicitly covers lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in federal law.
• And, through the advocacy of our New Beginning federal policy project, a collaboration of 20 organizations, we have already made tangible federal policy changes that will improve the lives of LGBT people, including seniors, people with low incomes and transgender people, and we have ensured that our marriages and partnerships will be counted and reported in the 2010 census.

This is what can happen, what does happen, when we work together, when we push together.

This year, I have been reminded again and again that our real inspiration must come from each other.

That’s who keeps us pushing, who enables us to get up day after day and keep working, that’s who truly inspires us and keeps us going…

It’s the transgender high-school student who goes to school every day dressed as she wants, no matter what is said, no matter what fingers are pointed; it’s the soldier, determined to fulfill his or her dream, and whose love for our country is greater than our country’s love for them; it’s the parents of those killed by hate who have committed their lives to stopping violence from happening in the first place; it’s the gay man working against racial profiling; and it is the straight neighbor who walks side by side with us in the streets of protest.

These are our heroes. These are my heroes.

For those of you who look at the last year and are angry, to those who are frustrated by the pace of change and the circuitous route it has traveled…

I say — So am I.

But that anger, unless channeled, will not bring change.

Nor will that frustration, unless redirected, move us forward.

That frustration, turned upon each other, is simply destructive. And may I suggest that’s exactly what our opponents want. They want us distracted and downtrodden. They want us splintered, sniping and arguing that one tactic will save the day over all the others. They want us disorganized, working separately and second-guessing ourselves.

Our opponents have seen what we can accomplish, united. And, it scares them.

And that’s why this year we will not ask for change, we won’t debate change, we won’t plan for change, we will not wait for change — we’ll create change.

There will be a day when people will wonder how our rights were even an issue. What was the big deal?

This state of inequality cannot be our children or grandchildren’s inheritance.

That means stepping up and answering the call that this moment in history offers.

We have an opportunity to lead. It’s up to us to define what must happen next, what will happen next.

If we do not step up with an expansive view of what it means to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, if we don’t explain that being LGB or T is simply being human, we will be making a mistake.

Whose calling is that if not ours?

An agenda? Yes, I have an agenda.

Certainly, let’s fight the legislative battles including…

Let’s end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” overturn the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, pass both an inclusive employment nondiscrimination act and the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act for federal employees…and…state by state enact anti-bullying legislation to protect LGBT youth.

But let’s not be defined by those battles solely. Let’s not be limited to those ways of defining our lives. We can’t let others see us as just these issues.

That others see our struggle as more…as a movement for justice, equality and liberation…as a movement for human rights…is critical to our success.

And so as we step into this new year, let’s lead, really lead.

As of today, fortunately, there are no places that face an imminent threat of state or local anti-marriage or anti-LGBT discrimination ballot measures this year. However, if they come up, we will be there. And yet, with a Ward Connerly-backed ban on affirmative action on the November ballot in Arizona and the likelihood of a parental notification initiative on the ballot in California, and potential anti-immigrant measures, we must be at the ready to step up and work on these issues that affect our community as well.

Let us work for meaningful health care reform that protects LGBT people.

Let us stand with fair-minded people in Uganda to fight off homophobic laws and expand the global movement for freedom by working to add co-sponsors to the resolutions introduced just this week in the U.S House and Senate.

Our voices need to be heard in these fights and on these issues but not just on these issues. We must lead on all issues that affect our lives.

Take immigration.

If we are truly a community and a movement committed to freedom, justice and equality then reforming our nation’s cruel and broken immigration system must be on our agenda for action.

Today, there are 12 million immigrants, including at least half a million lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who are forced to live in the shadows of our society.

They are people like Harold, an 18-year-old gay man who came to this country from the Philippines with his parents when he was five years old. This is really the only country he has ever known. But today, because he is undocumented, he cannot get a driver’s license, cannot get a job, cannot get a student loan, and is in constant fear of being arrested and deported to a country where he has no connections, no prospects and where he cannot speak the language.

They are people like Victoria Arellano, an undocumented transgender woman who was swept up by the immigration system, put into a detention jail where she was denied HIV medications and medical attention, even when she was vomiting blood. This cost Victoria her life. She died, chained to a hospital bed with two immigration guards at the door.

And, of course, there are at least 36,000 binational couples who cannot live together here in this country because federal law bans recognition of their relationships.

So, yes, immigration reform is an LGBT issue.

At some point, the president and Congress will take up immigration reform. This fight will make the push for healthcare reform look like a walk in the park. It will involve incredibly hard choices, but let’s be clear: We will stand by our allies in the immigration reform movement come what may.

We need to make this next decade the decade our nation realized that we face far greater issues than who someone loves and wants to marry; that our strength as a people is weakened and lessened when we fight each other rather than the social, economic, environmental and global concerns that face us all.

The LGBT community is talented. We are skilled, we are creative, we are ready to contribute to a vision of inclusiveness and to a transformed society.

And if ever there was a time when we needed to work together, as one people, it is now. And believe it or not, there are still thousands of people who don’t know anything about our lives, to whom we are invisible.

So let’s start right now to create some change.

Please take out a piece of paper or your handheld.
Write down or type these things:
At the top, write “My Life”
Below that, write:
Talk
Write
Meet

Now, as LGBT people and straight allies, I want us all to commit to taking three actions, every month, for the next year.

Each month, talk — talk to a neighbor, co-worker or family member about an issue that affects your life.

Each month, write — write a letter to the editor, write a blog, write on your Facebook page about an issue that affects your life.

Each month, meet — meet with your elected officials, meet with local nonprofits, meet with community leaders about an issue that affects your life.

When you get home, tape this up on your mirror or fridge with all of your other affirmations and reminders. Or keep your text in a handy place.

If all of us, just at this conference, commit to this, we will have taken 72,000 actions to move forward the visibility of our lives, to engage and to advocate. I follow some of you on Twitter, I am friends with you on Facebook, I know how far our reach is. And that isn’t even counting the people watching this on C-SPAN.

But that’s what we have to do. We have to take advantage of every available opportunity to push forward.

We will create change.

Last year, the right-wing organization Americans for Truth about Homosexuality (and believe me, there isn’t a whole lot of truth there) used a quote from my annual speech here at Creating Change in one of its fundraising letters. Like good activists, we turned around and used its letter in our fundraising efforts. Well, Americans for Truth about Homosexuality, here is your money quote this year: “We are still recruiting! We are recruiting a movement of people who care about freedom, justice and equality. And we will not stop until all people can live their lives without fear of persecution, prosecution or attack because of who they are or who they love. We are still recruiting!”

For 37 years, the Task Force has been at the forefront of change and that’s exactly where we plan to stay. And we want you there with us. As change agents, we want the Task Force to be your home.

For those of you who spend your days in public service — working for change as local, state and federal government employees — you are home!

For those of you who take action through blogs, social networking, or tweets, you are home!

For those of you who were in Act Up, Queer Nation, or take to the streets today…you are home!

For those of you who remember Stonewall because you lived it — you are home!

For those of you who like Elton John and Lady Gaga — truly one of the queerest moments in TV history…you are home.

For those of you who have the courage to proudly practice your faith, to take back your faith — a faith that may have rejected you or others…you are home.

And, for those of you who are straight and who see yourselves in the fight for LGBT equality and justice…you are home.

The Task Force has never been homogenous — we are diverse, dynamic and passionate — and because of that we’ve not always agreed with each other. But, together we always compel this country to pay attention to our lives. We always compel others to evolve toward fairness.

And that’s what we’re going to keep doing.

Let us inspire each other to lead, to create a society where equality is unconditional, where the acceptance of diversity is not a goal but a given, and where the concern is not who we love but that we love. Let’s create change!

Dick Cheney Joins the Majority (...maybe...)

Last Sunday, on the ABC News show This Week, former Vice President Dick Cheney said something that shocked me. No, it was not an apology for some of the decisions made during his years in the White House. And he did not take back his remarks that same-sex marriage should not be deemed legal by the federal government*. Nor did Mr. Cheney take the opportunity to publicly renounce his controversial views on using "enhanced interrogation techniques". However, his comments regarding a certain military policy that has been getting quite a bit of attention lately did result in my doing a double take at the t.v.

What caused my jaw to drop was that Mr. Cheney openly joined the growing group of politicians and military officials that support the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. This coming from a man that, in my opinion, is not generally known for taking a progressive stance on anything?! Surely I must have misheard! 

I decided to go to the google machine for more information and that is where I read that Mr. Cheney did appear to support the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell on This Week when he said, "Twenty years ago, the military were strong advocates of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, when I was Secretary of Defense. I think things have changed significantly since then. I think society has moved on. I think it's partly a generational question." The former Vice President went on to say, "...I'm reluctant to second-guess the military in this regard, because they're the ones that have got to make the judgement about how these policies affect the military capability or our - of our units...When the chiefs come forward and say, 'We think we can do it', then it strikes me that it's - it's time to reconsider the policy."

Former Vice President Cheney's comments appear to be clear support of repealing the military's policy on banning openly gay and lesbian individuals from serving in the military. However, as history has shown us Mr. Cheney is an intelligent individual who chooses his words wisely, so don't be surprised if in the future he denies supporting the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and states that he only supports reconsidering Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

With or without Mr. Cheney's endorsement of the repeal, data indicates that public support for it is on the rise. This was evident in the results of Quinnipiac University's February 10th Poll in which 57% of military families agreed that lifting the ban would not cause hostility between servicemembers or undermine military readiness. 66% of those polled said that the current policy of not allowing openly gay men and women to serve is discriminatory. 

We will continue to watch and report on development pertaining to the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, so keep checking here for more information!

*To be fair Mr. Cheney has openly said that he supports same-sex marriage as long as it is deemed legal by state and not federal government (Huffington Post, 2009).

A Message from Beth Robinson with Vermont Freedom to Marry

Thanks to you Vermont made history last year! Our work for the freedom to marry is done...almost. Please join us in Chittenden County (March 15th in Charlotte or March 16th in Colchester) to take the next steps. 

It wasn't easy overcoming Governor Douglas' veto. We only got the job done because an extraordinary number of legislators stuck their necks out. We pledged to stand by each and every legislator who voted for the marriage bill, and we must keep our word! 

It's not just a matter of keeping our commitments. November's elections in Vermont will have a significant impact on the freedom to marry movement nationally. So far, not one single legislator in the U.S. has lost her or his seat after voting for marriage equality. We cannot be the state that breaks the perfect record!

Many of the legislators who stood up for the freedom to marry now face tough challenges at the polls. If we can ensure their re-election, we'll send a powerful  message to reticent legislators all across the country: supporting marriage equality isn't just the RIGHT thing to do, it's the politically wise thing to do! If we can't, we'll validate their fears and reluctance, further slowing the march to equality.

We're convening supporters to talk about the upcoming elections in your area, answer your questions, and organize and train folks to make the biggest difference we can in 2010! Please, hang in there with us for this final step. It's way too important to drop off now.

Join Beth Robinson and experienced political field operative Linda Weiss at one of these meetings:

Monday, March 15th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Charlotte Senior Center, which is located at 212 Ferry Road in Charlotte

OR

Tuesday, March 16th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Colchester High School (Rooms 105 and 107), which is located at 131 Laker Lane in Colchester.

To RSVP and for more information email Sheryl@vtfreedomtomarry.org or call 802.353.7286

Thank you for standing up for the legislators who stood for equality!

It is time for your support!

Calling all same-gender married Vermonters!

Equal marriage in Vermont is a critical step towards reaching full equality. But did you know that even though you are legally married in Vermont the federal government says you are not married? the federal Defense of Marriage Act (SOMA) not only denies your marriage but denies you and your spouse access to over 1,138 marriage-related rights, benefits, and protections. DOMA affects issues such as taxes, retirement and health benefits, property and parental rights.

Gay and Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is researching the ways in which DOMA harms Vermont couples. We know that each couple is different, and we know that our community is our greatest resource and defense. We want to hear your story. Come to an open discussion about DOMA with GLAD representatives on Tuesday, February 16th at 7:00 pm, hosted by Menspace. We'll outline problems and resources, and will offer other needed information. Come to tell your story, hear others, and support GLAD's work toward equal marriage for all. The more information we have documenting the gap between marriage rights at the state and federal level, the more strength behind the push for equal marriage rights nationally. Menspace is located at 67 Main Street in Brattleboro, VT 05301. The phone number is (802) 254-4444.

Can't make the event but would like to help or see what we're about? Please click here to complete our survey. Thank you!!

RU12? Community Center Closed Monday, February 15th

The RU12? Community Center will be closed on Monday, February 15th in honor of President's Day. We will reopen Tuesday, February 16th at 10:00 am.

New Family Group and Events at RU12?

 Are you an LGBTQ parent or planning on becoming one? RU12? is excited to announce the start of regular LGBTQ family events! This spring RU12? will partner with Casey Family Services to offer monthly educational and support services for LGBTQ parents and children. This group will meet once a month to discuss various topics that affect LGBTQ families, share stories of personal experience and get to know one another. In addition to this, RU12? will begin hosting regular social gatherings for families. We'd love to hear from you about topics that are relevant to your family and experience, so please email sharon@ru12.org and share your ideas!

The first event is Wednesday, March 10th from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm at the RU12? Community Center. Come together with LGBTQ families and hear one parent's experience with raising kids and adoption. Please RSVP to this event by February 24th and let us know you are coming and if you need childcare. For more information email sharon@ru12.org.

We were visible!

Thank you to the over 50 community members and organizational representatives who attended Visibility Day this past Friday, February 5th at the State House in Montpelier.

You made the day a huge success! We met with our representatives, our senators and the Governor. We networked with each other, shared information at our organizations' tables, and had a chance to catch up in person.

Many issues were raised with the Governor, including our disappointment with his veto of marriage equality last year, the on-going problem of bullying and harassment in the schools, lack of health care coverage for transgender Vermonters, and concerns about cuts to services and jobs. Many brave and honest youth and adults used their voices to educate the Governor and their representatives. Not only were we visible at the State House, but we helped make change happen one conversation, one person at a time.

Thank you to Representative and community leader Bill Lippert for helping to pass a resolution honoring our community and our organizations. Stay tuned here to see a copy of this resolution once it completes its' legislative journey.

Thank you especially to all the youth who attended from Gay Straight Alliances from Brattleboro, Montpelier, Hinesburg, Milton and Burlington High Schools!

RU12? thanks Outright VT, the Samara Foundation of Vermont, VT CARES and the VT Freedom to Marry Task Force for helping to organize the day!

Thank you also to community groups VT TransAction, Pride VT, the Rutland VISTAs and the LGBT Alliance of VT Law School for joining us for the day.

     

- The RU12? crew - Sharon, Dawn, Mike, Kara, Ann and Brenda

Todd’s Peek In Review: Remembering Oscar Wilde, The Writer, and The Importance Of Being Earnest

 Oscar Wilde’s famous play, The Importance Of Being Earnest is basically written as a social pun for its time.  In a manner of speaking, it’s a satirical look at humor and wit based on the characterization of a small group of aristocratic friends in England in the mid 1800’s.

 The Importance Of Being Earnest is simply fantastic, clever and amusing.  Thus the characterization of the story enfold with witty yet absurd joke about the integral role of Jack.  It the mystery and mystic of Jack, to the girl of his affections, Gwendolyn, who knows him as “Earnest “, that creates the proverbial uproar.  It’s the case of the proverbial who dun it where all his friends desire to know more of him and what and who he really desires.  The set for the play is the social occasions which allow us to see his friends become increasingly bemused and yet will see their own confines of emotions as they joke.  

Through and through Oscar Wilde makes lavish use of this particular characterization to set the cadence for the satirical look at people and the social morays of Oscar’s time.  There is really no other relevance to The Importance Of Being Earnest, for when we see this kind of social interplay between the cast and Jack go back and forth, it becomes the commonality of the age old expression, “it is what it is.”  The joke around Jack as Earnest becomes totally nonsensical and ends up taking the laughter to the rite of attrition, rather than fruition about the credibility of the whole story line from the likes of the Play.  We, the audience revel in the social nuisance for the offbeat coloring and black and white to the characterization of the play itself.

 Mr. Wilde lived in disregarding times and was considered a so-called homosexual.  But still he had the capacity to live his own lifestyle and show his own personal sentiment to the world.  In essence, he endured much social friction about being who he was and what he did best, which was to write and write well.   He wrote this play at the height of his popularity despite the social morays.  Society, at this time, did not believe in him, to be a person of human care, to have the person hood that was necessary to live the life he chose for himself. 

Living in peace was important to Oscar, but he never really did have that or live that way at all, in so much as his own life and his writings always seemed to be about the trials and tribulations of never ever really being able to be gay together as people, through and through.   This play represents that, that life is a pun and a social pun all rolled into one.  And this is at the heart of a gifted, gay man who also had the forbearance to be a  gay writer within that livelihood despite the grotesque concerns around being openly gay at the time.  You see my friends of R.U.12?, Oscar Wilde was not purported to be a great writer, really and truly, of any right.  His lifestyle was considered way too odd and enigmatic of sorts, and always ended  up being misconstrued for sure.  But still he will always be remembered as the greatest contemporary writer of His Day and Times, even still.   

To Oscar Wilde, forever I say, as a Gay Writer and a Gay Man . . .amen to that, so be sure to pick up the copy of the play at R.U.12 for the consummate read of laughter and gaiety of its own right and care, in this world of ours where the importance of being earnest is so easy come, so easy go . . .and or so it goes.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in African American communities is a continuing public health crises for the United States. African Americans represent approximately 12 percent of the U.S population and they make up almost half of the estimated 1.1 million people living with HIV today. The other issue is every year the African American community also make up half of the newly cases each year. The most important prevention tool everyone can use is to always know your status! Testing today is quick, easy, painless, and in just 20 minutes you will receive your results.

RU12? Community Center offers testing Monday-Friday from 3-6 or you can email mike@ru12.org and set an appointment up.

Literature For Your Love

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and let's face it: the price of flowers this month is beyond belief and chocolate - well, I can't say anything bad about chocolate! This year consider showing the loves in your life how much you care by giving the gift of a book! A book looks just as nice on your table as a vase full of flowers and there are some authors who make words on your tongue taste just as good as chocolate! Stop by the RU12? Community Center and check out our great selection of books for sale! 

*If your holiday celebrations include more than flower smelling, chocolate eating and book reading then pick up some condoms and lube to help you celebrate safely!

*THE WINTER IS A DRAG BALL XV*

On Saturday, February 13th from 8:00 pm to 2:00 am The House of Lemay will be producing and hosting THE WINTER IS A DRAG BALL XV at the Higher Ground in South Burlington. This year's theme is "At the Drag Ball of Good & Evil", and the evening will include six hours of entertainment in each room. Heloise & the Savoir Faire will be headlining and opening the event in the Ballroom. The Showcase Lounge will open with The House of Lemay's annual Drag Ball Cabarey accompanied by The Decoys and Craig Hilliard. Live performances and DJs with the return of the popular Diva Lounge will fill out the night. Doors open at 7:00 pm and the ticket price is $20 if purchased before Saturday and  $25 if purchased the day of the show. This event is open to all ages. THE WINTER IS A DRAG BALL XV is a benefit for the Vermont People with AIDS Coalition.

GLAFF Needs Your Help!

Recently the Gay and Lesbian Adoptive Foster Families (GLAFF) group received a small grant from the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) to offer a respite care program to its families. GLAFF wants to know what you think will be most helpful for your children, your family, and you as the parents.

The GLAFF respite program can be designed to meet various family needs, and your input on what these needs are is greatly appreciated! Examples of these needs include connecting as families for social events, providing an opportunity for parents to talk about their children and connect socially without their children, hosting supervised children's activities so parents can take a break, and paying for in-home care or out-of-home children's activities specific to each family's needs.

Please take a couple of minutes to  answer a few questions so a program can be designed to best meet the needs of LGBTQ families. Thank you!

Thank you for helping us reach thousands of LGBTQA Vermonters!

Thank you for donating to RU12? this fall and end of year, helping us raise over $11,000 to go towards reaching thousands of LGBTQA Vermonters. As a small non-profit we literally could not do it without the support of our generous community!

We are halfway through our fiscal year and we have reached 2,700 people so far! And that doesn't count all of you reading this blog, checking our web calendar for statewide events or reading about RU12? on this website, those we outreach to at tabling events, special events, or through our advertising.

Since July 1st, 2009...

The RU12? Drop-In and Resource Center and David Bohnett Cyber Center served 550 people through social support groups, information, resources, referrals, computer and internet access, lending library, and more.

The SafeSpace Anti-Violence Program at RU12? has served close to 50 survivors of domestic, sexual or hate violence or discrimination.

SafeSpace and the Health and Wellness program at RU12? provided training and technical assistance to over 650 service and health providers from across the state to increase their cultural competency in working with LGBTQ survivors, patients and people in general.

RU12? has provided rapid HIV testing to 105 people, and reached 350 young, gay and bisexual men through our HIV prevention and men's community building program, GLAM.

The What's Up, a weekly e-newsletter of RU12? and statewide happenings with and for the LGBTQ community reaches over 1,000 readers every week. (Just email Dawn@ru12.org to sign up!)

THANK YOU for making this important work possible!

New HIV Testing Schedule

Starting this week RU12? will be providing free and anonymous HIV testing, counseling, and referrals on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Appointments are greatly appreciated, so please call Mike at 802.860.7812 or email Mike@ru12.org to schedule a time to come in. Training and education surrounding HIV/AIDS is available for community organizations, educational institutions and private businesses. Please contact the center for more information.