Green Mountain State Update
Balint joins HRC for Harris
US Representative Becca Balint of Vermont has joined over 1,100 LGBTQ+ leaders, celebrities and influencers in signing a letter in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’s run for President.
“The community is sending a message loud and clear: we are united in support of the experienced, tough, pro-equality Vice President Kamala Harris and will do everything it takes to defeat Donald Trump and JD Vance,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson.
“The hope and energy we are feeling right now is real. We have the opportunity to not simply vote against the Trump Project 2025 agenda for America in November. We have the opportunity to vote for the future we want. A future where each of us is treated with the dignity and respect we deserve. A future that is safer and better for everyone. A future with equality and freedom for all. For decades, Vice President Kamala Harris has dedicated her life to working toward this future for America, fighting hate crimes, supporting LGBTQ+ families, and advancing justice for all. That future is possible when we show up for our pro-equality champion Kamala Harris.”
Indie Excellence award
“Falling Through the Night,” an autobiographically inspired novel by Vermont resident Gail Marlene Schwartz, has been selected as this year’s National Indie Excellence Award winner in the LGBTQ fiction category.
The novel explores the complicated journey of healing trauma and learning how to love.
An established leader in writing contests, the National Indie Excellence Awards are open to recent English language books in print by independent authors and titles published by small to medium sized imprints across all genres.
Schwartz also spoke at National Indie Excellence’s Pride event in Newport, Vermont on June 23.
Foster care lawsuit
The Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a federal complaint against Vermont Department for Children and Families’ requirements for foster families to support LGBTQ youth. The conservative Christian law firm’s case alleges the policy is unconstitutional on the grounds that the state’s requirements limit families’ right to express their religious views.
The case alleges that two married couples in Vermont had their licenses to foster children revoked because they are Christians who believe that “a person’s sex is binary and fixed by God at conception,” states the complaint, according to a report in Vermont Public. Vermont’s regulations require foster families to “affirm they’ll support LGBTQ youth, including using a child’s preferred pronoun and allowing them to dress in ways that align with their gender identity,” notes Vermont Public. “In revoking their licenses to foster children, the complaint argues, Vermont violated the couples’ free speech, free association, religious exercise, due process and equal protections rights under the US Constitution.”
However, the Department’s Deputy Commissioner Aryka Radke reminded Vermont Public, “It is a human right for all to be valued and supported, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Family Services Division is here to serve all, and upholds that expectation for both its staff, as well as the foster parents who agree to take on the care of the youth in custody.”
Pride flag theft
The Pride flag flying over Harwood Union Middle and High School in north-central Vermont was stolen in early June. In a statement issued soon after the theft, the school’s administrators promised to replace it. The Progress flag had been flying since mid-May and was scheduled to fly through the month of June.
This is the third consecutive year the colors have flown over the school.
“June is Pride Month and dedicated to the celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride. Since 2022 Harwood students have shown overwhelming support in asking the HUUSD School Board to raise the Pride flag at Harwood to support our LGBTQ+ students as well as in commemoration of the larger LGBTQ+ community,” a school administrator said in their statement. “The school is securing a replacement flag and will once again raise it through the month of June as approved by the HUUSD school board.”
Not a subscriber? Sign up today for a free subscription to Boston Spirit magazine, New England’s premier LGBT magazine. We will send you a copy of Boston Spirit 6 times per year and we never sell/rent our subscriber information. Click HERE to sign up!
