Green Mountain State Update
A historical engagement
Right after President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law back in December, Vermont’s first openly transgender state legislator, State Rep. Taylor Small, and her partner, Carsen Russell, both attendees of the signing ceremony, officially became engaged on The White House lawn.
“I was just like, ‘I want to spend my life with you, and will you marry me?’” Russell told NBC News on Friday in a joint interview with Small.
“I swear I could not have taken my glove off fast enough,” she said, after announcing the news on Twitter. “It was really just the perfect backdrop and the perfect moment for that celebration.”
Congratulations, Taylor and Carsen!
Stepping down
Kate Donnally, an openly LGBTQ Vermont state representative serving her second term, announced she would step down from her House seat on January 27, explaining the reason in her regular column for the News & Citizen was because the “work became an impossible juggling act.”
“I have wanted so badly to find that elusive sweet spot that allows me to continue to do this work that I love without sacrificing my mental health and the health of my marriage and family,” she wrote.
“I have finally come to the painful conclusion that such a balance simply does not exist. It ultimately became a choice between the Legislature and my life as I know it.”
Homophobia from the political right was among the “brutally difficult” pressures of her job, as she indicated to VTDigger, which quoted her at a debate leading up to last year’s election:
In the time that I’ve served, over two years, I’ve been directly targeted by the Vermont GOP. I’ve had my face plastered over social media with the word ‘extremism’ written under it. It’s been shared on social media with the hashtag ‘groomer,’ essentially meaning that, because I support the care of queer and trans youth, I am somehow a child abuser. … These things place my life at risk. And when I talk to people in the state Legislature who are queer-identified, who are Black and brown, they all have their own stories of this kind of treatment.
At the time this issue went to press, her seat was to be filled by appointment from Republican Gov. Phil Scott; as VTDigger noted, it’s customary for the governor to select someone from the same party as the departing member.
Victory Congressional intern
Mira Vance, a global gender and sexuality studies major with a concentration in Chinese at Middlebury College in Vermont, has been selected as one of six Spring 2023 Victory Congressional interns. Mira’s hometown is Northampton, Massachusetts, and her placement is with US Rep. Lori Trahan, also of Massachusetts.
Now its 12th year, this internship program of the LGBTQ Victory Institute sends emerging LGBTQ leaders to spend a semester interning on Capitol Hill. This spring’s 10-week program will include a rigorous in-person weekly leadership development series, community outreach and mentorship component. “The LGBTQ Victory Institute is proud of our continued and growing partnership with the LGBTQ Equality Caucus, its members, and other LGBTQ-friendly members of Congress,” notes their press release.
At Middlebury, Mira has a minor in psychology and has completed a minor in global health focusing on disability studies. Her studies have created the backbone for her intersectional approach to advocacy and humanitarian activist work that emphasizes the impacts of race, gender, sexuality and disability on experiences of oppression and violence.
HRC equality leader
Vermont — along with the other five New England states — earned tops scores on Human Rights Campaign’s most recent State Equality Index.
This index delivers a comprehensive state-by-state report on laws and policies that affect LGBTQ+ people and their families across the country. Scores are broken down into the following categories: Active Laws & Policies; Parenting Laws; Hate Crimes & Criminal Justice Laws; Non-Discrimination Laws; Religious Refusal & Relationship Recognition; Youth Laws; and Health & Safety Laws.
Find out how the Green Mountain State scored in each at hrc.org/resources/state-scorecards.
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