Green Mountain State Update
Tragic loss at Middlebury
Vermont State Police confirmed Lia Smith, a 21-year-old, transgender senior and former diver/swimmer on the school’s team at Middlebury College, whose disappearance on Oct. 17 prompted an intensive search, died by suicide. Smith’s body was found Oct. 23 in a field in Cornwall near the college’s organic farm.
Police and the Vermont State Police Search and Rescue Team deployed aerial drones during the search, while dozens of students volunteered to assist.
Smith, from Woodside, California, was double majoring in computer science and statistics. She previously competed on the women’s swimming and diving team and was active in several campus clubs, including chess and Japanese cultural groups. She was also known on campus as an advocate for transgender rights.
Middlebury president Ian Baucom said he had spoken with Smith’s family “to express my heartbreak,” adding, “As president, and far more as a fellow parent, I ache for them. This is a profound loss that nobody should have to endure.” He thanked police and volunteers and said the Student Affairs team has been supporting Smith’s family and the campus community.
TOP 10 state for same-sex couples
The latest survey by the Williams Institute at the University of California, a preeminent team of researchers on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy, found that Massachusetts and Vermont are among the top 10 US states with the most same sex couples per household, with the most female same-sex couples residing in Vermont.
According to Williams, Vermont ranks fourth in the country (based on percentage) with approximately 3,373 same-sex couples, or 12.41 percent of all couples.
Massachusetts came in at seventh, with 33,452, or 12.17 percent.
As for the other New England state, Maine comes in at 12th, with 6,582 couples, or 11.30 percent, and Rhode Island at a close 13th, with 4,979 couples, or 11.28 percent. New Hampshire, at 17th, has some 5,495 couples, or 9.88 percent, and Connecticut, at 21st, with 12,641, or 8.91 percent.
Preserving history
A community gathering in Bellows Falls this past fall highlighted Vermont’s long LGBTQ-rights history by revisiting the Andrews Inn, a once-vibrant safe haven that operated from 1973 to 1984. About 45 people attended the Oct. 25 event at the Rockingham Free Public Library, part of the Vermont Humanities 2025 Fall Festival, to hear scholar and performer Andrew Ingall discuss the inn’s legacy and its role in LGBTQ+ caregiving.
The Andrews Inn—an inn, restaurant, gay bar, and disco—drew visitors from across the East Coast and Canada but remains little known today. Former co-owner Thom Herman called the event “cathartic,” noting that after closing the inn in 1984, “I left with a lot of trauma,” but the commemoration offered healing and recognition.
Speakers also addressed the homophobic backlash the inn faced, including a damaging 1983 prostitution sting. Though charges were dropped, the fallout contributed to the inn’s closure. Local historian Gail Golec is producing a podcast and documentary to preserve its history.
HRC Municipal Equality Index
Human Rights Campaign Foundation released its 14th edition of the Municipal Equality Index (MEI) — the only comprehensive nationwide assessment of LGBTQ+ equality in the areas of municipal policies, laws and services.
In 2025, a record-breaking 132 cities achieved perfect 100-point scores.
“Our cities are showing us the way forward, demonstrating that even as attacks on our community intensify, hope and determination can create sanctuaries of inclusion,” said HRC Foundation President Kelley Robinson.
That said, for the first time in seven years, the national average decreased, reflecting the current backlash against LGBTQ+ rights, and particularly trans and nonbinary rights.
In Vermont, Burlington scored 99, Winooski 69, Montpelier 63, Barre and Rutland 62, Brattleboro 60, South Burlington 53, Castleton 48 and Essex at 46.
For a breakdown and interpretation of the stats in detail, visit hrc.org/resources/municipal-equality-index.
